Self-Esteem of Male Alcoholics

Abstract

CPI profiles, utilizing those scales which measure social maturity, were obtained for 29 male alcoholic volunteers for therapy. Profiles were compared with those of Corotto’s (1963) alcoholic volunteers and non-volunteers for continued treatment and Lichtenstein & Bryan’s (1967) low and high self-esteem groups of normal Ss, as well as Gough’s (1964) Cpi norms. The alcoholics formed a distinct group, separated from normals, with volunteers exhibiting the lowest scale scores. Of the three normal subject-groups, the low self-esteem group’s scores were the closest to the alcoholics; yet, in spite of this, their profiles were significantly different from the three sets of alcoholic profiles. It was argued that lowered Cpi scale scores for volunteer alcoholics was evidence for the existence, within this population, of Pattison’s (1967) existential guilt: guilt induced by violation of social relationships and by the alcoholic’s withdrawal from social situations.