Alcohol Withdrawal, Psychological Symptoms, and Treatment Success

Twenty-nine chronic male alcoholics were examined with the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Tests with the POMS scale were carried out on the ward on Days 1 and 5 and after 21 days of sobriety. Our aim was to study the mood change in chronic alcoholics during detoxification and after 3 weeks of sobriety compared with a standard group (college students) and with psychiatric outpatients. A further aim was to study whether the patients who later underwent a Minnesota treatment program(n = 6) differed in mood compared with those who did not. An improvement was observed over time regarding all six POMS factors. The results for Day 21 were generally better than the expected normal values for the POMS profile sheet with regard to both psychiatric outpatients and college norms. The follow-up based on the patients' records 1.5-2 years after the detoxification occasion in question showed that 18 patients had been hospitalized, generally for alcohol detoxification. The 6 patients who participated in a Minnesota treatment program had no documented relapses. A comparison of these 6 patients with the rest showed that the former had significantly lower values on five of the subscales.