Drinking variables, affective measures and neuropsychological performance: familial alcoholism and gender correlates

The relationships between five measures of alcohol consumption and five summary measures of diverse neuropsychological test performances were studied in 76 male and 67 female alcoholics as a function of family history of alcoholism and affective symptomatology. No significant relationships were obtained between drinking variables and neuropsychological performance scores for the overall groups of male and female alcoholics. In family history positive (FH+) males, correlations between a number of drinking variables and neuropsychological measures neared significance. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores correlated most strongly with the overall impairment index in both family history positive (FH+) and family history negative (FH-) alcoholics. Depression and anxiety scores in the female alcoholics significantly correlated with three of the five alcohol consumption variables. Possible confounding factors in the relationships between alcohol intake measures and cognitive functioning were discussed.