NCJ Number
111888
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 12 Issue: 2 Dated: (1988) Pages: 141-149
Date Published
1988
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study used a random sample of 100 adult male inpatients being treated for alcoholism at a metropolitan Veterans Administration hospital to assess the prevalence of a history of childhood physical abuse.
Abstract
Existing differences in the psychological profile and patterns of alcohol abuse in abused and nonabused alcoholics are examined. The subjects, ranging in age from 22 to 69, included 50 being treated for alcoholism for the first time. The sample was 35 percent black, 63 percent Caucasian, 46 percent Catholic, and 35 percent Protestant. Sixty-four subjects had never been involved in outpatient treatment for alcoholism. Subjects were administered a self-report questionnaire devised by the authors to detect childhood physical abuse, and three other self-report instruments. Included was a 25-item Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), designed to detect alcoholism, and a 20-item Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ), which evaluates a recent month of typical alcohol use by the patient along 5 dimensions. Also administered was a 90-question clinical rating scale (System Checklist-90-Revised) used to assess the symptomatic behavior of psychiatric and medical patients. Findings indicated that approximately one-third of the alcoholics were physically abused as children, and that there was no significant difference in severity of alcohol dependence between the abused and nonabused groups. Abused alcoholics reported having more severe psychological symptoms and distress than their counterparts. No differences were found in the onset, severity, or treatment history for alcohol dependency. Tabular data and 28 references. (Author abstract modified)