Psychometric tests and a complex assessment of the course of alcohol dependence

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Abstract in foreign language

In order to understand the course of alcohol dependence (AD) more deeply, carefully selected and psychometrically evaluated psychological tests are essential. In recent decades, few psychometric tests have been widely and systematically standardized on Hungarian samples. Nevertheless, this tendency seems to be changing as more and more psychometric data are becoming available. This work in certain aspects relates to this tendency. In the light of different psychological tests, psychometric indices have been presented for direct and indirect indicators of the severity of AD. It has been confirmed on a Hungarian sample that the assessed and applied severity measures are reliable and valid. On the other hand, these different symptom severity indicators have been connected to personality factors so as to extend our knowledge on patients with more severe forms of addiction. It was revealed that novelty-seeking (NS) is the strongest correlate of the severity of the clinical symptomatology of AD, and this personality factor is the most powerful determinant of a severe AD. Self directedness (SD) as a personality factor is a robust determinant of an existing AD and the ability to sustain abstinence. For a better understanding of long term abstinence an integrative approach was applied by combining neurocognitive and personality measures. A decisionmaking deficit was detectable even after long-term alcohol abstinence and it is concluded that a more adaptive personality profile can contribute to the compensation of this trait-like neurocognitive deficit in sustained sobriety. A comparison of different alcohol treatment settings revealed that, in the context of 12-step-based interventions, an enhancement of spiritual orientation could be a favourable treatment aim for patients with AD, since spirituality serves as a mediating factor within the treatment, and as such, decreases state anxiety.

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