The relationship of wives' treatment to the drinking status of alcoholics.

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Abstract
The relationship between the drinking status of 227 outpatient alcoholics (mean age 43; mean duration of marriage 16.2 yr; mean history of alcohol problems 13.3 yr) and the treatment mode experienced by their nonalcoholic wives was studied. Of the 227 husbands, 95 were classified as drinkers (had used an alcoholic beverage during the preceding 6 mo.) and 132 as abstainers. Husbands tended to be abstinent when the wives were active Al-Anon members (86 of 107 in this group vs. 46 of the other 120 were abstinent, P < .001), had participated in the husband''s inpatient treatment (70 of 87 vs. 62 of 140, P < .001) or had received post-treatment counseling (52 of 74 vs. 80 of 153). The above statistics also include cases of combined treatments. Of the 66 men whose wives received only outpatient treatment, 50 were drinking (vs. 45 of the other 161, P < .001). The likelihood of the husband''s abstinence increased with the number of treatment modes experienced by the wife. Husbands of 7 of 13 wives receiving no treatment vs. 30 of 34 whose wives received a combination of 4 types of treatment were abstinent (P < .001). Counselors should encourage the wife to participate actively in her husband''s treatment.

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