Differences between the Background, Attitude, Functioning, and Mood of Drug Addicts, Alcoholics, and Orthopedic Patients

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Abstract
Over a one-year period 52 alcoholics, 24 heroin addicts, and 16 orthopedic patients individually were interviewed by a social worker in the V.A. Hospital in order to: (1) assess the patients' family histories and drug-taking behavior; (2) measure their attitudes toward their parents and themselves, using Osgood's Semantic Differential; (3) evaluate their current social functioning according to the Social Dysfunction Rating Scale; and (4) determine their mood on a 4-point, 18-adjective scale. Analysis of variance revealed that alcoholics and drug addicts differed from orthopedic patients in that they more often expressed the belief that alcohol/drugs helped them to feel mentally alert (p < 0.002), gave a poorer evaluation of themselves and their fathers (p < 0.001; p < 0.03), and had poorer social functioning (p < 0.001). No significant multivariate difference between the groups was found for mood. With the apparent acceleration of drug abuse in this country, recent studies have been focusing on the addict. Many variables that have been examined in relation to alcoholics are now being evaluated in relation to addicts in order to determine whether the groups are similar to each other except for substance use. In regard to alcoholism, early parental loss or rejection (Bahr, 1969), parents' excessive use of alcohol (Rosenberg, 1969), the alcoholic's low self-esteem (Gross and Alder, 1970; Parades et al., 1969), or his anxiety and depression (Nathan et al., 1970) have been associated with excessive drinking. De Lint (1964; N = 2,054) and Roller and Castanos (1969; N = 420) completed research that showed a significant relationship between parental loss and alcoholism. On the other hand, when different types of psychiatric patients were examined (Pitts et al., 1965; N = 748), results suggested that parental loss may not be as important as the presence of psychiatric illness in other family members. In presenting impressions of addicts, Ganger and Shugart (1969) and Vaillant (1966) emphasized the quality of the familial relationship as it influences drug taking. Rosenberg (1969), who compared 50 alcoholics with 50 addicts, found homes characterized by emotional and economic deprivation for both groups but more alcoholics among the fathers of the alcoholic group. The purpose of this study was to determine whether differences would be found between addicts and alcoholics in terms of background, attitudes toward such things as their parents and themselves, current social functioning, and mood. In addition, the question was raised as to how these two groups would compare to a “normal” group of hospitalized patients.