Differential patterns of alcohol abuse among normal, neurotic, psychotic, and characterological types

The MMPIs of 201 male alcoholic inpatients were classified into normal, neurotic, psychotic, and characterological types according to the Goldberg rules (1972). Multivariate analysis of variance of the respective Alcohol Use Inventory ( AUI ) scores showed that the groups differed in a multivariate sense. The pattern of significant univariate differences indicated that both the neurotic and psychotic groups reported more severe symptoms and consequences of alcohol abuse than the normal and characterological types. No univariate differences were found between either the neurotic and psychotic types or the normal and characterological types. Results were discussed in terms of functions that alcohol served among the groups.