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Prediction of outcome in coerced and voluntarily treated alcoholics
Author(s) -
Gerdner A.,
Bodin L.,
Söderfeldt B.,
Berglund M.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of social welfare
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1468-2397
pISSN - 0907-2055
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2397.1996.tb00242.x
Subject(s) - abstinence , logistic regression , multivariate analysis , medicine , alcohol abuse , psychiatry , psychology , turnover , clinical psychology , management , economics
The study concerns multivariate prediction of the short‐term outcome of alcoholism in a coercive treatment setting in Sweden. One hundred and twenty‐one patients (87 men, 34 women) with a mean age of 41 (range 26–63) years attended a 5‐week program. They were for the most part severely alcohol‐dependent and socially unstable. Compulsorily committed patients ( n ‐32) were less socially stable but did not differ from the voluntary patients ( n =89) in the type of drugs abused. Nine months (mean) after treatment, a follow‐up was performed by mailing questionnaires to the patients and to the referring social workers. The improvement data in the questionnaires were checked with other data. Data on alcohol abuse were available for 116 (96%) of the patients; 55% improved. Of these, 13% had remained entirely abstinent. Using multivariate logistic regression, participation in a self‐help group and first‐time admission were found to be significant factors for overall improvement, while having a family and more than primary education were significant for abstinence. Compulsory commitment to treatment was not related to the short‐term drinking outcome. Undergoing voluntary treatment and having previous treatment experience were significant factors for participation in self‐help groups.