[The Collage Impression Scoring Scale (CIISS) may help predict sobriety for alcoholics]

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Addiction Studies

Context:

• Alcoholism treatment and recovery.
• Assessing psychological states in patients.
• Utilizing creative art therapies in clinical settings.

Purpose:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the Collage Impression Scoring Scale (CISS) in assessing alcoholics.
• To determine if CISS scores can predict treatment outcomes and sobriety maintenance.
• To explore the relationship between CISS factors (stability, expression, creativity) and anxiety levels in abstinent versus relapsed individuals.

Summary:

• Fifty-four raters assessed collages from 24 alcoholics using the CISS upon hospital admission and discharge.
• Collages made at discharge consistently received lower CISS scores across all three factors compared to admission collages.
• In a six-month follow-up of 11 individuals, abstinent participants had lower CISS scores and higher anxiety than those who relapsed, suggesting CISS reflects engagement with internal problems.

Impact:

• The CISS demonstrates utility as a predictive index for alcoholics maintaining sobriety.
• Findings suggest that increased anxiety in abstinent individuals, reflected in lower CISS scores, may be linked to confronting psychological issues.
• The study highlights the potential of art-based assessments in understanding and predicting recovery trajectories in alcoholism.