title: An investigation of the impact of social support on the outcome of an alcoholism treatment program.
abstract: This study examines the role of social support in recovery from the chronic illness of alcoholism. Symbolic interactionism provides the theoretical framework from which two hypotheses are derived--one of which deals with the amount of social support available to patients during treatment and one of which deals with the social support actually experienced during treatment. Self-administered questionnaires were given to 83 patients enrolled in an inpatient treatment program in a midwestern city in the United States. Although patients did show a significant improvement in self-concept during the course of the treatment, neither of the hypotheses was supported by the data. Conceptual and measurement problems associated with the utilization of social support as a variable are discussed.
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support