Off-campus UNL users: To download campus access dissertations, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your NU ID and password. When you are done browsing please remember to return to this page and log out.
Non-UNL users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this dissertation through interlibrary loan.
PERSONAL AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONING LEVELS OF RECOVERING ALCOHOLICS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS
Abstract
This cross-sectional analysis study was aimed at determining if individuals who have more education and longer periods of sobriety are better personally and socially adjusted than those with lesser education and shorter periods of sobriety. Specific questions investigated by this study were: (1) Are individuals with more sobriety time more socially adjusted than those with less? (2) Are individuals with higher education levels more apt to be socially adjusted than those with less education? (3) Is there a significant relationship between selected demographic data and personal and social adjustment? (4) Does gender affect personal and social adjustment levels? Three hundred alcoholics were randomly selected, one hundred individuals for each group, with varying lengths of sobriety--one year, three years, and five years. In each group, one-third of the subjects were females. They were selected using random cluster sample of Alcoholic Anonymous (A.A.) groups across the State of Nebraska. Adjustment was measured by the six scales of the Denver Community Mental Health Questionnaire (DCMHQ) and the three scales of the Heimler Scales of Social Functioning (HSSF). Demographic variables, age, income, and education analyzed by means of one-way Anova indicated people five years sober are older, make more money, and are more educated. Gender was studied post hoc. It was found to be significant for four of the DCMHQ scales with males scoring as healthier. This measure of males appearing more positive was also reflected in the HSSF Positive Scale. In terms of years of sobriety, individuals with one year sobriety reported more psychological distress, more feelings of isolation, and being less productive at work. The results gave only minimal support to the hypothesis that people with higher levels of education would be better socially adjusted. In terms of gender differences, women scored as psychologically more distressed, isolated from family, and as being divorced without remarriage than did males. Weaknesses and limitations of the current research strategy are outlined and discussed.
Subject Area
Families & family life|Personal relationships|Sociology
Recommended Citation
WILSON, LARRY CREIGHTON, "PERSONAL AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONING LEVELS OF RECOVERING ALCOHOLICS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS" (1986). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8629541.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8629541