[Study of a sample of alcoholic patients two years post-treatment]

This survey analyzes the evolution of one sample of alcoholic patients two years after finishing treatment. Its target is to determine the percentage of patients that remain abstinent, their rate of retention, and what factors can have an influence on abstinence. In 1990, 72 alcoholic patients were treated in the Alcoholism Unit, who make up our study sample. The average age was 37.9 +/- 11.47 years old; 77.8% were diagnosed as being Alcohol-dependents and 22.2% as Alcohol-abusers; 19.4% dropped out the treatment early. In 1992 our sample of study was 53 patients (2 died and 17 refused to participate), of whom 77.7% were abstinent and 28.3% continued ingesting alcohol; the average abstinence was 22.92 +/- 8.73 months. An important finding of this study was that the diagnosis, sex, and treatment with aversives had not an influence on abstinence; however the percentage of abstinent patients in those who had attended Therapeutic Discussion Groups was significantly higher than in those who had not.