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Replication of a prognostic index based on follow-up data gathered from inebriates treated at an out-patient clinic

University of British Columbia

Adopting a social problems framework, the relation between certain sociological factors and rehabilitation was analyzed for a group of alcoholic patients treated at an out-patient clinic. It was hypothesized that favourable socio-economic characteristics, such as being married and living with wife, being employed, living in acceptable housing, were related to treatment success. Six such factors, one of them a motivational index,were incorporated into a prognostic index by a Danish researcher. This index was replicated with data gathered during interviews with 155 male patients for a follow-up study during 1962/63. Treatment results and factors associated with treatment were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Stepwise regressions showed that socio-economic data combined into an index did not predict treatment outcome with any degree of accuracy for the Canadian sample. Housing, type of spirit consumed and age emerged as a "best" predictor, accounting for roughly 8 per cent of the variance involved in successful treatment outcome. The hypothesis was not confirmed that socio-economic factors are associated with rehabilitation, but it was found that certain social control factors, which are associated with socio-economic factors, are conducive to rehabilitation if treatment is given at out-patient clinics. The inferences drawn from the findings suggested both certain theoretical and practical implications for treatment. These were spelled out in some detail following Talcott Parsons' theory of social control and deviance, and definitions of illness and health in the light of North American values and social structure.

Text

2011-10-24

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/38181

Sociology

University of British Columbia

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