Alcoholism in the Professions

In a longitudinal study, 407 Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) members in selected high-status professions were alcoholics who had done no drinking for the past year. Some follow-up information was obtained on 400, and 362 were considered fully reinterviewed. The hard-to-locate, refusals and deceased proved no more likely to have relapsed than did others. Four-fifths of the reinterviewed subjects reported complete abstinence between interviews. Of those who relapsed, 27 drank less than once a year on average. Another 46 drank on five or more occasions. Initial interview factors associated with relapses between interviews for these 46 are presented. Three were still drinking when reinterviewed.