Author

Date of Award

5-9-1990

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

Recent cluster-analytic research with alcohol-dependent men has demonstrated the existence of several Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) subtypes that are consistent across diverse samples. Few such studies have been reported which employed age as a variable of interest. Shortcomings of this research include a lack of external, independent measures against which to evaluate the predictive validity of cluster typologies. Subjects were divided into four groups according to age in 10-year increments. The current study detected age-related changes in derived MMPI clusters for 387 male alcoholics who were admitted to a private inpatient treatment program. Subsequent multivariate analyses employing alcohol-use scales revealed significant differences among subtypes of different age men. Implications for future research regarding alcoholic personality subtypes and for the treatment of alcoholism are discussed.

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