Mood changes in alcoholic subjects with programmed and free-choice experimental drinking of alcohol

Davis, David (1973) Mood changes in alcoholic subjects with programmed and free-choice experimental drinking of alcohol. MD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Two studies of programmed and free-choice experimental drinking of alcohol with chronic alcoholic subjects were conducted to determine: (1) the effect of alcohol on self-reported mood scores, (2) the trends in mood over five day periods of drinking, (3) the effect of anticipation of the first drink on mood, (4) the effect of the same one dose of alcohol at the same time each day over a five day period of drinking, (5) the relationship of blood alcohol levels to mood scores, (6) the difference in mood scores between subjects, and (7) the difference in mood scores and alcohol levels between the programmed and free-choice drinking designs. Nine chronic alcoholics took part in the programmed study and eight in the free-choice study. All subjects had full physical and mental status examinations, laboratory studies, mood assessments and Breathalyzer tests. The mood was assessed by a Q-sort developed from the Lorr-McNair mood adjective checklist. Several devices were introduced to assure the reliability and validity of the instrument. It was found that in both groups there was a significant decrease in "carefree" and "friendliness" scores and an increase in "hostility" scores during the drinking periods, as well as other mood score changes peculiar to each group. The data also suggest that a decrease in the score on the "carefree" scale may have been a more sensitive indicator of lowering of mood than an increase on the "depression" scale. These mood changes tended to increase or decrease as drinking progressed, with the levels of "hostility" and "anxiety" being altered significantly in the first two days of free-choice drinking. For the total subjects, differences before, after, and between drinking for "carefree", "anxiety", "cognitive gain" and "fatigue" scores in free-choice drinking were significant, while change in the "fatigue" score was the major difference during programmed drinking. The increase in depression and anxiety which occurred in most subjects in anticipation of drinking may have clinically significant implications. The variation of mood patterns among subjects emphasizes the importance of an individualized interpretation of the findings. Clustered patterns indicate the high probability that mood profiles among alcoholics are definable, with potential value in formulating therapeutic programs.

• Item Type: Thesis (MD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Psychobiology
• Date of Award: 1973
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1973-73274
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 14 Jun 2019 08:56
• Last Modified: 14 Jun 2019 08:56
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/73274