How depressive are male alcoholic inpatients? Psychometric results from the “Tübinger Alkoholismusprojekt“*

Abstract

SummaryThere has been continued interest in the nature of the association between affective disorders and alcoholism. This may be due to the fact that during the course of alcoholism 30-70% of the patients suffer from mood disturbances meeting the criteria for severe depression, especially in periods of excessive alcohol consumption or during withdrawal. In the course of a prospective multidimensional study, Tiibinger Alkoholismusprojekt (T-ALK Study), symptoms of depression in 31 male alcohol-dependent patients (RDC diagnosis) were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Freiburger Personlichkeitsinventar (FPI-R) at the beginning and at the end of a 6-week inpatient treatment program. There was only a moderate degree of depression (BDI) in 20% of the patients which decreased significantly during the psychotherapeutic treatment under conditions of confirmed abstinence. No correlations between the degree of depression and neuropsychological impairment were found. Although the “satisfaction with life” (FPI-R factor) was still impaired in a third of the patients at the end of that short-term treatment period, our results do not indicate a general nosological overlap between alcoholism and affective disorders in males.