Locus of control and treatment outcome in alcoholics

Abstract

Alcoholism is no longer regarded as a unitary disorder, but conventional measures of cognition and personality have yet to be shown capable of consistently predicting clinical outcomes. The present study evaluated the ability of two measures of locus of control--a generalized measure (IE) and a drinking-related one (DRIE)--to predict therapy involvement during, and treatment outcome following, an abstinence-oriented inpatient program for alcoholics. Both measures were administered to 106 patients (32 women) once near the beginning and once near the end of treatment. A range of other sociodemographic and psychological data was also recorded. Significant and independent shifts in the internal direction were found on both measures from the first to second testing. Relationship between locus of control and treatment participation was weak. DRIE fared better than IE in predicting treatment outcome. Ability to predict outcome was enhanced when interactions between locus of control and cognitive dysfunction were considered and when analyses included nonlinear relationships between these measures and treatment outcome.