ALCOHOLISM - A LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP-STUDY OF PARTICIPANTS IN AN ALCOHOL TREATMENT PROGRAM

This paper reports the results of a long-term follow-up study of 112 a lcoholic patients admitted to an intensive 1-month residential program me. Outcomes at the 6-month and 1I-year stages were reported in an ear lier paper [G. K. Shaw et al. (1990) British Journal of Psychiatry 157 , 190-196]. The length of the follow-up period in this study was an av erage of 9 years. Eighteen patients had died before the long-term foll ow-up stage, and of the remaining 94 a total of 60 patients were follo wed up. This study shows that major improvements on social, psychologi cal and drinking behaviour measures, made at 6 months and 1 year follo w-up, were, on the whole, maintained and there was a progressive impro vement on most variables at each follow-up stage. Major improvements w ere achieved by those patients whose drinking was categorized as 'abst inent', 'controlled' and 'improved'. The proportion of patients catego rized as 'unchanged' dropped from 43% at 6 months to 33% at 1 year and to 15% at 9 years. By the 1-year follow-up stage, the unchanged group showed deterioration on psychological variables such as neuroticism, self-esteem and satisfaction with Life situations, continued to make u se of health service resources, and the high level of alcohol-related physical and social complications remained unchanged. This group had s imilar results at long-term follow-up with the exception of neuroticis m, which was significantly lower in all drinking categories.