The major goal of the proposed research project is to investigate the degree to which ethnic racial group membership may be predictive of the treatment outcomes for female alcoholics. The specific objectives include exploring (1) the association between pre-treatment characteristics of alcoholic females and their success or failure in treatment; (2) the impact of different treatment modalities on treatment outcome for female alcoholics; and (3) the levels of change, if any, from pre-treatment and post-treatment measures regarding subjects' personal lives, drinking behaviors, and social support systems. Baseline data will be obtained from a minimum of 75 black and white female alcoholics, via interviews and questionnaires, at the time of their admission into one of the three treatment programs that agree to participate in the project. Follow-up studies will be conducted at a six month interval and again at one year after completion of the inpatient programs. The experimental design will be a 2x2 fixed factor design with one repeated measure. The type of information that this study provides regarding prognostic factors and their predictive value relative to treatment outcome will enable treatment facilities to utilize their resources in the treatment of alcoholism in the most effective manner possible. In addition, research of this nature is important in that it will allow treatment facilities to provide greater services to minorities by providing information on the effects of race and other personal characteristics on alcohol abuse and dependency in women. Finally, the study is designed to distinguish different factors in women which may effect treatment outcome. These findings should encourage treatment facilities to view women as a heterogenous rather than a homogenous group especially when designing treatment programs for their female clients.
