%0 Journal Article
%T Prolonged Abstinence and Changes in Alcoholic Personality: A NEO PI-R Study
%A Isabelle Boulze
%A Michel Launay
%A Bertrand Nalpas
%J Psychology
%P 312-319
%@ 2152-7199
%D 2014
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/psych.2014.54041
%X <p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;\">
	<span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\">Many
studies have examined the risk factors for relapse in alcohol-dependent
patients within the first year of treatment, and have generally focused on two
personality dimensions: emotional instability and difficulty in establishing
relationships. In this study, we examine if these weaknesses remain in
prolonged alcohol abstinence. To do so, we administer the NEO PI-R to two
groups of subjects. Group 1, Inactive Drinkers (ID), consists of 51 patients
with at least two years of abstinence (average length of abstinence for this
group is 6.2 years); Group 2, Recently Detoxified Drinkers (RDD), comprises 93
patients who have recently ceased consuming alcohol. Based on NEO PI-R scores,
our results evidence that inactive drinkers experience significant reduction in
emotional instability and improvement in relationships to others. We further
observe that, with long-term abstinence, these personality dimensions
normalize, ceasing to be risk factors for relapse. Additionally, we find that
this long-term amelioration of traits altered by alcohol amounts to an improved
behavioral adaptation to life events rather than an actual change in personality.</span></span> 
</p>
%K Alcoholism
%K Neo Pi-R
%K Personality
%K Abstinence
%K Emotional Stability
%K Relationship to Others
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=44430