Temperament-/character-traits as well as -trait-patterns in alcohol dependent men and controls

This study is on the personality of alcoholics, an empirical investigation based on Cloninger's biopsychological temperament and character-traits. His Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) was applied to 94 detoxified men suffering from primary alcohol dependence as well as to controls matched f or sex and sociodemographic data. The following questions were the matter o f interest: (1) Do alcoholics a nd controls differ in their personality as reflected by the TCI and (2) are there indicators based on personality with potential relevance for differential therapies? A multiple univariate statistical comparison yielded significant difference s between alcoholics and controls on only 2 subscales (Sentimentality, Reso urcefulness). A multivariate analysis of the TCI temperament traits using t wo-sample configural frequency analysis revealed no statistically significa nt difference between the two groups. Temperament patterns associated with Cloninger's Type-I/Type-II alcoholics could not be demonstrated. Analyzing the temperament and character traits of the alcohol dependent subjects with a log-linear model revealed two bivariate temperament-/character classific ations on the scales "Harm Avoidance" and "Self-Directedness" as well as "R eward Dependence" and "Self Transcendence"- both making it possible to defi ne subgroups which may be relevant for different therapeutical approaches. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that it may be useful to closer investigate the personality of alcoholics even if it is not principa lly different from that of control subjects.