The measurement of denial and rationalization in male alcoholics

Two hundred male alcoholics were given 94 true-false items constructed to characterize alcoholic defensiveness, and a factor analysis revealed two strong factors. The first factor (Denial) was correlated with items that asserted an ability to control one's drinking, denied being an alcoholic or needing treatment, or minimized the consequences of alcohol abuse. Items that loaded the other factor (Rationalization) gave reasons, justifications, and excuses for drinking. Two derived scales were examined in a replication sample of 66 male alcoholics, and alpha coefficients (.84 and .85) from the first sample did not show undue shrinkage in the second (.86 and .77).