Stress, Personality and Emotional Disturbance in Wives of Alcoholics

Abstract

Selected measures (Welsh''s Anxiety Index; Modlin''s AV score; T scores over 70; Gough''s psychotic triad) derived from the MMPI [Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory] responses of 26 wives of inactive alcoholics, 50 wives of active alcoholics and 50 wives of nonalcoholics were compared for the purpose of assessing 3 controversial hypotheses concerning the relationship between personality characteristics of wives and the alcoholism of their husbands. The results indicated a gradient in rates of personality disturbance: wives of nonalcoholics had the lowest rate and wives of actively drinking alcoholics the highest; wives of recovered alcoholics were in a midway position, consistent with results from previous research. The fact that both groups of wives of alcoholics had higher rates of personality disturbance than did wives of nonalcoholics made it impossible to rule out the personality disturbance hypothesis, i. e., that pathological personality needs lead to the selection of spouses who are or who become alcoholic. The fact that a gradient existed made it equally impossible to rule out the stress theory that personality disturbance is related to the amount of stress inherent in the current life situation. Thus, the findings were most consistent with the psychosocial hypothesis which takes into account both personality and situational variables. The results raise questions concerning certain assumptions on which research on alcoholism and the family and treatment of alcoholism have been based.