The educational treatment program for alcoholics at the Nova Scotia Hospital : the extent to which it effects attitudinal change and adjustment patterns in patients

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the therapeutic value of the three week educational treatment program for alcoholics offered at the Nova Scotia Hospital. This educational treatment program provided for alcoholic inpatients was compared to the non-directlve program offered by the Nova Scotia Alcoholism Research The effectiveness of each program was measured by the resultant amount of attitude change and fluctuations in adjustment patterns for the respective clients. The study further attempted to distinguish between the variables of 'attitude' and 'adjustment' to see how the relationship between them was affected by treatment.

The major findings showed that the educational treatment program contributed significantly towards bringing about attitudinal changes and adjustment to the condition of alcoholism within a three week period. However, within the N.S.H. group, which undertook the educational treatment program those patients who showed mild impairment in the areas of behavior and social relations were able to adjust significantly when compared to those who had more severe impairment. A related finding was that patients who were making better adjustment to their condition were observed to be poor participants in the program. This behavior could be reflective of their deep concern with understanding and assimilation of the new material and less motivation to develop new social relations. It was also found that the two variables of 'attitude' and 'adjustment' correlated significantly prior to treatment and that as an outcome of treatment these two variables showed even greater influence upon each other. Finally, it was found that variations in demographic variables did not alter the outcome of treatment.

An unexpected finding was that the N.S.B. group showed poorer adjustment initially but after treatment they adjusted to a level where the A.R.F. group was prior to their treatment.This may give evidence that the two programs are sequential in their purpose and that treatment should be provided in It could be indicative of the patient's capacity to benefit depends on his degree of impairment.

The validity of these findings could be enhanced by further research that would use other comparative groups and by examining the effectiveness of the educational program at different points in time.