Abstract
We performed a community research program in order to analyze the evolution of interpersonal values following alcohol withdrawal in alcoholics attending to a self-help group. The Gordon questionnaire on interpersonal values was administered every 3 months during one year to 145 individuals having recently stopped drinking. At baseline, scores of 5 interpersonal categories (dependence, conformism, consideration, independence, kindness) were in the medium interval of usual values while that of command category was low, specifically in men. Values of conformism and independence increased according to time while those of dependence and consideration decreased but the differences were significant only in those who remained abstinent all along the observation period. In those who relapsed, there were no modifications; however, sharing these values might have allowed these subjects to be less isolated. We will describe in details the nature of these evolutions.
Highlights
When attempting to prolong abstinence, alcohol-dependent subjects face a psychological challenge they have already encountered before the cessation of alcohol intake: That of isolation—or solitude—as described by Fouquet (1963) and Rainaut (1973)
We believe this study evidenced the merit of membership in a support group over time, regardless of whether subjects stop drinking or not
Researchers should attempt to verify if commitment to a support group is greater than the reliance on medico-psycho-social treatment programs
Summary
When attempting to prolong abstinence, alcohol-dependent subjects face a psychological challenge they have already encountered before the cessation of alcohol intake: That of isolation—or solitude—as described by Fouquet (1963) and Rainaut (1973). According to Fouquet (1963), isolation disrupts the relationship which the alcoholic patient entertains with himself and others. This detachment is manifested somatically via a tendency to feel less pain. The psychotropic effects of alcohol fade, and the subject loses control over his consumption He severs all links with the world, his self-image falters, and his body begins to wane. Consuming alcohol becomes his only quest, and his survival is predicated upon it. The subject reaches the apex of solitude. Rainaut (1973) emphasizes the notion that, to renounce alcohol, the subject must first exit his solitude
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