Impaired memory for treatment-relevant information in inpatient men alcoholics

Inpatient alcoholics (N = 54 men), nonhospitalized members of an Alcoholics Anonymous group (N = 15 men) and nonalcoholic inpatients (N = 10 men) were shown a 55-min film on alcoholism and were subsequently given memory tests for recall and recognition of information from the film. The performance of the inpatient alcoholics was impaired relative to that of the controls. Alcoholics who were tested earlier in treatment performed worse than those tested 3 or more weeks after their last drink. These results suggest that treatment-relevant information may not be well remembered by alcholics until they have been in treatment for at least 2-3 weeks.