ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND THE POSTTREATMENT FUNCTIONING OF ALCOHOLIC PATIENTS.

The present research assessed the posttreatment functioning of alcoholic patients in relation to (1) the presence or absence of marital and occupational resources, and (2) if present, the type of social environment they provided. Patients in stable marital and/or work situations at admission had significantly better outcomes (drinking, psychological, social) than patients without those resources (N = 429). Among the married patients, a more positive family milieu was associated with relatively greater improvement in the functioning of the alcoholic member. Among working patients, a more positively perceived work environment was associated with more successful posttreatment performance, but only among patients lacking marital support; for patients living with their spouses, no relationship was found. The results underscore the importance of including environmental measures, in addition to patient background characteristics, in longitudinal and evaluation research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]