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Six‐ and Twelve‐Month Abstinence Rates in Inpatient Alcoholics Treated with Aversion Therapy Compared with Matched Inpatients from a Treatment Registry
Author(s) -
Smith James W.,
Frawley P. Joseph,
Polissar Lincoln
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1991.tb00614.x
Subject(s) - abstinence , mood , medicine , alcohol , alcohol dependence , psychiatry , biochemistry , chemistry
Two hundred forty‐nine patients who were treated for alcoholism in an inpatient multimodal treatment program that included aversion therapy were matched post hoc on 17 baseline variables with patients from a national treatment outcome registry. The latter patients received inpatient treatment that emphasized individual and group counseling as the primary therapeutic elements but did not include aversion therapy for alcohol. Six‐ and 12‐month abstinence rates from alcohol and all mood‐altering chemicals are reported. The patients treated with aversion therapy for alcohol had higher alcohol abstinence rates at 6 and 12 months ( p < 0.01). The abstinence rates from all mood‐altering chemicals were higher in the aversion group at 6 months ( p < 0.05) but not at 12 months. The largest differences between treatment groups in 6‐month alcohol abstinence rates were noted for males ( p < 0.001), those over 35 ( p < 0.001), daily drinkers ( p < 0.001), and those with alcohol‐related work performance problems ( p < 0.05).