Inpatient Treatment of Employed Alcoholics: A Randomized Clinical Trial on Hazelden‐Type and Traditional Treatment

Abstract

The first randomized clinical trial on the Hazelden-type of treatment showed that this AA-oriented treatment for alcoholism can result in significant improvement in drinking behavior as compared to a more traditional form of treatment. One hundred forty-one employed alcoholics were randomized to either Hazelden-type treatment (N = 74) or to traditional-type treatment (N = 67). The treatment group were highly comparable. The bimonthly follow-up lasted one year. According to the COPES-questionnaire (short form), the treatment at the Hazelden-type institute was significantly more involving, supportive, encouraging to spontaneity and oriented to personal problems than at the traditional-type institute. In accordance the treatment drop-out rate was 7.9% at Hazelden-type institute and 25.9% at traditional-type institute (p < 0.02). The participation in outpatient treatment was significantly better after the Hazelden-type treatment. The proportion of those abstinent (admitted ethanol consumption, 0 g/day; gammaglutamyl transferase, and mean cell volume were normal) was higher at Hazelden-type institute during the last (8-12 months) follow-up period (26.3% vs. 9.8%, p = 0.05). Fourteen percent of the Halzeldon-type institute patients and 1.9% of traditional-type institute patients stayed abstinent during the whole 1-year follow-up period (p < 0.05). The differences for the corresponding rates for controlled drinking (admitted ethanol consumption less than 40 g/day, GGT, and MCV normal) were in the same direction but did not reach statistical significance. Thus the Hazelden-type treatment obtained better results in 1-year abstinence rate than a more traditional-type treatment.