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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
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A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers
Published on: January 5, 2018
Comorbid psychiatric diagnosis and long-term drinking outcome
E E Hunter1, B J Powell, E C Penick
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City 66160, USA.
Comprehensive Psychiatry
|September 30, 2000
Summary
Antisocial personality traits in alcoholics predict worse long-term drinking outcomes. While consistently associated, the actual impact of these traits on alcohol dependence recovery is small.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Addiction Medicine
- Longitudinal Studies
Background:
- Psychiatric comorbidities in alcoholism often yield inconsistent findings regarding long-term drinking outcomes.
- Previous research has not definitively identified which specific comorbidities predict prognosis in alcohol dependence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate which psychiatric comorbidities predict very long-term drinking outcomes in individuals with alcohol dependence.
- To test the hypothesis that antisocial personality characteristics are uniquely associated with poorer drinking outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 255 adult male veterans diagnosed with alcohol dependence.
- Utilized multiple psychopathology measures: Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and Psychiatric Diagnostic Interview (PDI).
- Employed single and multivariate correlational analyses with the Clinician Rating of Drinking Scale (CRDS) as the outcome measure.
Main Results:
- Antisocial personality characteristics were consistently associated with a worse long-term drinking outcome.
- The statistical association between antisocial personality traits and poorer outcomes was consistently present.
- The magnitude of this relationship was notably small, warranting detailed discussion.
Conclusions:
- Antisocial personality characteristics emerge as a significant predictor of long-term drinking outcomes in alcohol dependence.
- Despite consistent association, the small effect size highlights the complexity of predicting alcohol dependence prognosis.
- Further research is needed to understand the nuanced relationship between personality traits and recovery from alcoholism.
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