LOW PERSISTENCE PREDICTS RELAPSE IN ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE FOLLOWING TREATMENT

Objective: To investigate the relationship between personality measure s and alcohol dependence relapse in a treatment sample of men with alc ohol dependence. Method: Alcohol dependent men (N = 87) without a prim ary diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, recruited consecutiv ely from a 3-week abstinence-focused therapeutic program, along with i nformants, completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R P ersonality Disorders (self-report questionnaire) (SCID-PQ) and the Tri dimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and were followed-up for 6 months. Drinking outcomes were based on multiple sources of data and subjects categorized as relapsed or not. Personality was investigated according to traditional DSM-III-R/DSM-IV clusters, as well as conduct disorder and obsessionality separately, in addition to the four major temperament dimensions of the TPQ. Results: Cluster B personality dis order symptoms, conduct disorder symptoms and novelty seeking were not associated with relapse. However, the temperament trait of persistenc e predicted relapse. Conclusions: Personality features associated with onset of alcohol dependence do not appear to be the same as those ass ociated with relapse in a sample of alcohol dependent men that exclude s severe antisocial personality disorder. It is speculated that what m ight be considered low motivation when applied to alcohol dependent pa tients who relapse following treatment, may in part reflect low persis tence, a personality trait.