Considerations for survival in program evaluation projects.

Program evaluation research is presented as an increasingly necessary and valuable activity. Some "rules" are presented as a vehicle for the delineation of areas of concern that speak to the practical side of conducting this type of research.

The efficacy of AA attendance for aftercare of inpatient alcoholics: some follow-up data.

Inpatient alcoholics (N = 145) were followed at 6-month intervals for 18 months postdischarge. The drinking outcomes were compared based on overall degree of AA attendance. Results did indicate higher percentages of abstinence for AA attenders, but only at 18 months. AA attenders also indicated fewer days drinking during the first 6 months, with fewer days drunk for AA attenders at 18 months. Those subjects attending AA for the entire 18 months reported a total abstinence rate of 50%.

Cost/benefit estimates from ongoing alcoholism outcome research: a working paper.

There is an increasing emphasis on cost-effectiveness for all forms of treatment, occurring in parallel with constraints on research dollars. It would therefore seem useful for investigators to try to use ongoing research data as a basis for demonstrating a positive economic impact when outcome data are available. Some thoughts and figures are presented from a large alcoholism project, for which there were also some treatment outcomes. These data permitted dollar estimates, in terms of community impact, which are offered as a basis for further discussion. Although crude, these types of estimates are seen as vital in making the economic arguments, which parallel those for the human misery side of substance abuse.

An MMPI-based clinical typology for inpatient alcoholic males: derivation and interpretation.

A "customized" clinical typology of six types (for 10% to 30% of the sample each) was derived on 150 inpatient alcoholic veterans as part of a more comprehensive clinical research project. The types were derived on 18 variates, which included the 13 clinical and validity scales of the MMPI, 2 intellectual estimates, 2 perceptual estimates, and an employment rating, using Ward's procedure. The MMPI clinical profiles for the types matched closely known MMPI actuarial patterns, as well as those from prior alcoholism typing research. The non-MMPI variates seemed to add importantly to the clinical meaningfulness of the derived types. Type contrasts on a number of demographic and index variables were also significant and provided additional descriptive and validation data. The desirability and utility of combining several common measures as a basis for types that would be a central part of ongoing clinical programming and research are discussed.

Factors common to the ISI and the 16PF inventories.

This study tested for five higher-order dimensions hypothesized to be common to the Interpersonal Style (ISI) and the 16PF questionnaires. A sample of detoxified alcohol dependent inpatients (N = 50) were administered the ISI and the 16PF on two separate occasions. The 31 scale intercorrelations were analyzed by the method of principal axes. An oblique factor structure obtained by use of the Promax procedure confirmed the factors expected. These were interpreted as representing Self Control, Interpersonal Involvement or Exvia, Emotional Stability or reversed 16PF Anxiety, Independence, and Level of Socialization. At least two or three closely similar higher-order factors have been isolated on each of three other popular inventories (PRF, CPI and GZTS). The existence of such common dimensions should facilitate the interpretation and confirmation of distinctive score profiles.

Personality types of alcoholics on objective inventories. A review.

The personality profiles of alcoholics as derived from four objective inventories--the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, the Personality Research Form and the Differential Personality Inventory--are reviewed. An overall consistency of results is seen which interfaces with known clinical entities from other areas of mental health research.

Personality patterns of alcoholics revisited: delineation against the MMPI and clinical implications.

Eight personality patterns were derived on the Personality Research Form (PRF) data of 206 male alcohol abuser inpatient veterans, accounting for 55% of the total sample. Seven of these types were partial to moderately strong replications of the types from Nerviano: Compulsive, Aggressive, Impulsive/Hystrionic, Narcissistic, Submissive, Asocial Schizoid, and Avoidant Schizoid. One additional Hostile/Withdrawn type was also derived. These PRF patterns were found to be quite distinctive on the regular clinical scales of the MMPI via discriminant analysis. These prototype clinical patterns were seen as a basis for differential psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological strategies of treatment of chronic alcohol abusers.

Patterns of antipsychotic drug use in four Southeastern state hospitals.

The drug prescriptions of patients in the four mental hospitals of a state were obtained as of a specific date and subjected to various analyses. The results disclose a high frequency of antiparkinson drug orders (41.5% of the patients), their relationship to polypharmacy (30% of the antipsychotic drug prescriptions were for two or more to be administered simultaneously), the direct relationship between the antipsychotic dose level and antiparkinson drug and PRN orders and the incidence of multiple dose schedules (75%). Also other prescription practices which have received little or no attention are described and discussed.

The 16 PF and CPI: a comparison.

This study assessed the cross-inventory generalizability of personality characterizations for Cattell's 16 PF and Gough's CPI. The univariate and multivariate relationships of these scales to their measures of impression management and general aptitude also were explored. Although many PF and CPI content scales and highly similar descriptions, all were found to have poor and inconsistent cross-inventory convergences. The 16 PF and CPI correlates of the desirability scales were found to be similar and consistent with prior research, although the number and magnitude of those for some CPI scales seemed somewhat inappropriate (as were some between the CPI and general aptitude). The relationships of the desirability scales to the content scales of each inventory were found to be heavily dependent upon rotation after factor analysis. It was concluded that the high degree of scale dissimilarity between the 16 PF and CPI must caution against clinical and research generalization across these two inventories. In addition, further investigation of these current impression management scales seems worth pursuing because they appeared to represent the most consistent characteristics measured.