Reported drinking among posttreatment alcohol abusers: a preliminary report

Posttreatment drinking behavior and job effectiveness ratings by supervisors are compared at 6, 12, and 24 months follow-up for young (age 25 and younger) and old (age 26 and older) male alcohol abusers admitted to Naval Alcoholism Rehabilitation facilities. Follow-up results indicate that: (1) large percentage of subjects were rated effective at their work following treatment; (2) effective subjects drank significantly less than noneffective subjects; (3) young subjects tended to drink significantly more than old subjects; (4) of those rated effective at their work, young subjects drank more and abstained less than did old subjects; (5) drinking behavior and work effectiveness ratings appear to remain consistent over the three follow-up periods. Some implications and limitations of the present study are discussed.