Disciplinary Problems in a Home for Older Veterans: Some Psychological Aspects in Relation to Drinking Behavior

Abstract

Domiciliary residents with histories of disciplinary offense were compared to residents without such histories in terms of diagnoses of alcoholism, the hostility and control scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, and the scales of the Adjective Check List. The results suggested there may be at least two groups of residents who attain records of disciplinary offense: (a) diagnosed alcoholics; (b) a group without any alcoholic diagnoses but with strong hostile attitudes and associated drinking problems. Preliminary research would suggest that the two groups might be candidates for different therapeutic approaches. Future plans include the study of the distribution of subtypes of domiciled alcoholics with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and cross-validation of Adjective Check List findings.