Coping styles of type I and type II alcohol-dependent men undergoing treatment

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways by which individuals with alcohol dependence, who were subgrouped into type I and type II according to the typology criteria of von Knorring et al, (J. Study Alcohol. 1987;48:523-527), cope with life events. One hundred male alcohol-dependent individuals participating in a therapeutic program composed the study sample. Of the 100, 61 subjects were categorized as type I and 39 subjects as type II. Coping styles were measured using a self-administered questionnaire that includes 8 subscales of coping styles. The type II subgroup scored significantly lower on the suppression subscale and significantly higher on the replacement, mapping, and substitution subscales as compared with the type I subgroup, of which the latter difference was at a tendency level. As regards the remaining 4 coping style subscales, minimization, help seeking, blame, and reversal, no significant differences were found between the 2 patient subgroups. The differences found may be taken into account in the development of therapeutic programs for the 2 subgroups.