A Comparative Study of Alcoholic and Psychiatric Patients with the MMPI

Abstract

This study attempted to investigate some of the essential characteristics of the alcoholic population in terms of externally observed psychiatric symptoms. It was hypothesized that differences between psychiatric patients and alcoholic patients in personality characteristics as measured by various clinical and psychological instruments was in some part a function of the source of the sample rather than in any essential difference between general psychiatric patients and alcoholic patients. It was hypothesized that alcoholic patients will display the same range of psychiatric symptoms as other psychiatric patients when drawn from comparable populations. The following samples were drawn to examine this hypothesis. The samples included patients from an alcoholic clinic (N=78), a Skid Row alcoholic clinic (N=17), a published study of hospitalized alcoholics (N=64), and a population of psychiatric outpatient clinic patients (N=35). From the findings it was concluded that in the groups selected sufficient evidence existed to assume that the Alcoholic Outpatient Clinic group and the Psychiatric Outpatient group displayed similar constellations of psychiatric symptoms. The Alcoholic Clinic group differed primarily in terms of the expression of asocial or antisocial attitudes as measured by the psychopathic deviate scale. Both these groups, and the Skid Row alcohol group, differed from the hospitalized alcohol group. This study added further weight to prior studies which suggested that the alcoholic group did not represent a unique personality type or a unique psychiatric nosological group. Future studies might very profitably concern themselves with causation and choice of symptom rather than focusing on the assumed unique character of the alcoholic personality as described by personality types and patterns of symptomatology.