Psychological disturbances in spouses of alcoholics. An empirical assessment.

Abstract

The spouses of hospitalized alcoholics (15 women, 25 men) completed the Alienation (Al), Discomfort (Di) and Defensiveness (De) scales of Lanyon''s Psychological Screening Inventory (PSI). The spouses'' mean scores were within the normal range of Lanyon''s normal sample, but differed significantly from the control group on the De scale. The male spouses scored significantly lower than the normal sample on the Al scale. The results conflicted with the theory that the spouses of alcoholics have disturbed personalities.