Neuropsychological test results are related to ratings of men alcoholics' therapeutic progress: a replicated study

The relationship of tests of neuropsychological functioning to clinical ratings of participation in therapeutic activities and predictions of outcome were investigated in two groups of men alcoholics. Factor analysis of the clinical ratings confirmed the existence of three factors: cognitive, clinical improvement and interpersonal. Significant relationships were found in the first group of alcoholics (N = 52) between neuropsychological test scores and scores on each of the three factors. These findings were replicated in the second group of alcoholics (N = 28) drawn from the same population. Patients rated by therapists as having a poor prognosis performed significantly worse on certain neuropsychological tests, especially measures of abstracting and problem solving, than patients rated as having a good prognosis. These data provide evidence that neuropsychological tests are sensitive to many of the same dimensions assessed by clinicians in evaluating therapeutic progress.