Clinical Indications of Motivation in Alcoholic Patients

Most of the patients (92 men and 24 women) who contacted the outpatient clinic of the London branch of the Ontario Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Foundation over a 1-year period were assessed on several clinical indicators of motivation for treatment; physical condition on arrival (sober or intoxicated), willingness to accept disulfiram, source of referral to the outpatient clinic, and the number of contacts made with the clinic. Psychotherapy, chemotherapy and treatments relevant to the individual's needs were given as frequently and as long as both patient and therapist saw value in the contacts. Approximately 1 year after treatment began, 75% of the Ss were recontacted and questioned about their drinking, employment, marital, financial and social situations, as well as about their self-perceptions. Although positive effects of treatment were noted (49% had longer periods of abstinence after treatment), none of the motivational measures, taken singly or in combination, predicted changes in the patients' use of alcohol or in their patterns of living. It was concluded that the measures of motivation used in this study were of no use in predicting the outcome of treatment.