THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INTELLECTUAL DETERIORATION, EXTRAVERSION AND NEUROTICISM AMONG CHRONIC ALCOHOLICS

REGINALD G . SMART

Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Research Foundatia* Toronto, Canada

PROBLEM It has been suggested (3, 8 , that brain damage and the intellectual deterioration

associated with it may be extraverting factors. This postulate has been examined only in relation to the effects of various brain extirpations rather than to the extra- verting effects of naturally occurring brain pathology. Crown’s study of psychotics showed no effect of psychosurgery on performance tests associated with neuroticism or extraversion. However, Petrie (11) demonstrated that various types of lobotomy resulted in performance test score changes indicative of increased extraversion and decreased neuroticism. using many of the same tests, later found no effect on neuroticism but evidence of increased extraversion. These studies all employed performance tests related to extraversion and neuroticism, but among psycho- surgery cases it seems likely that factors associated with slowness, inattention, and inability to concentrate could contribute heavily to the increased extraversion. No studies have been made of the relationships between brain damage and high extra- version and neuroticism scores on Eysenck’s factor. analyzed questionnaire. (3* 4,

This questionnaire, unlike many of the performance tests used earlier, is highly re- liable, valid, and less subject to error because of inattention or slowness. The present study predicts a relationship between intellectual deterioration among chronic alcoholics and high extraversion but low neuroticism scores on Eysenck’s Maudsley Personality Inventory.

METHOD Subjects. The Ss were a representative sample of all males who had at least three

convictions for drunkenness in Toronto during a twelve month period. This sample comprised 228 offenders but complete data were obtained for only 150; in 78 cases test data were incomplete because of illiteracy, physical handicap, premature release, or transfer to another institution. All of these offenders showed the classical signs of chronic alcoholism such as constant uncontrolled drinking, use of commercial alcohol and cheap wines, and withdrawal symptoms when drinking was terminated.

Tests. Eysenck’s MPI scale for neuroticism and extraversion-introversion and the WAIS were administered to all subjects during their confinement in jail. Two groups were formed on the basis of the VIQ-PIQ difference on the WAIS. It has frequently been shown@* 7, 9 , that large VIQ-PI& differences are associated with brain damage but not with functional pathologies except perhaps senescence and old age. ( * * lo) It was realized that the VIQ-PIQ difference might fail to identify some types of brain damage such as left hemisphere lesions which affect verbal as well as WAIS performance scores. (I2) However, most studies have shown large VIQ-PI& differences for mixed groups of organics and the number of false positives chosen by this method seems likely to be very small.

Offenders with a VIQ-PI& difference larger than 18 were placed in the “De- teriorated” group (N = 24) and those whose VIQ-PI& difference was + 5 points were placed in the “Undeteriorated” group (N = 49). The data for Ss not falling in one of these groups were not used in this study. The use of VIQ-PI& differences greater than 18 meant that the deterioration indicated was very infrequent in general populations ( P < .05) and extremely rare considering the reliability of the various sub tests ( P < .001). (6) Because VIQ-PI& differences have been found in older age and senescent groups a comparison was also made of the ages in the two groups.

*Special thanks are due Professor P. J. Giffen and Mr. G. Oki for supplying some of the data on which this study is based.

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Extroversion 1 N I Mean SD t

REGINALD G. SMART

N euroticism Mean SD t Mean SD t

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Comparisons were made between the Deteriorated and Undeteriorated Groups

for extraversion and neuroticism scores from the MPI, and for age. Table 1 shows the outcomes of 1 tests applied to the differences between groups; the Deteriorated Group shows significantly greater extraversion ( P < .03) but there are no differ- ences for neuroticism or age.

TABLE 1. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE DETERIORATED AND UNDETERIORATED GROUPS IN EXTROVERSION, NEUROTICISM AND AGE

26.83 7.28 1.92* 22.98 8.45

Deteriorated Undeteriorated

26.0 11.28 .59** 44.9 10.68 .18** 27.8 12.69 44.5 9.28

*P < .03 for one tailed test; **P > .20 for one tailed test.

The results support the hypothesis that intellectual deterioration associated with chronic alcoholism is related to high extraversion, but not to neuroticism or age. Since the ages in the two groups do not differ, the VIQ-PI& difference was probably not merely of the type associated with old age or senescence. The results for extraversion support those of Petrie(”) and Tow(13) on the effects of psycho- surgery but they differ from Crown‘’) in which no increase in extraversion was found. The finding that neuroticism was unaffected is similar to Crown’s(’) and TOW’S ( I 3 ) findings for psychosurgery but further studies of various brain pathologies are required before any statements could be made about neuroticism.

Given the results a t hand and Ey~enck’ s (~ ) postulate that “brain damage leads to an increase in inhibitory potential”, it might be expected that deteriorated chronic alcoholics would show all of the behavioural correlates of extraversion. For example, they might demonstrate more reminiscence, stronger figural after-effects and lower sedation thresholds than would undeteriorated alcoholics. ( 3 ) When the slower learn- ing and faster extinction of extroverts ( 3 ) is considered, then any rehabilitation in- volving relearning should be more difficult with deteriorated alcoholics than with those who are not deteriorated.

SUMMARY This study investigated the relationships between brain damage and its asso-

ciated intellectual deterioration, and extraversion and neuroticism scores. The subjects were chronic alcoholics convicted of public intoxication. The M P I and WAIS were administered, and on the basis of the VIQ-PI& difference two groups were selected - a Deteriorated and Undeteriorated Group. The Deteriorated Group showed significantly higher extraversion scores but no differences for neuroticism. The implications of these findings for further personality studies and for therapy were briefly discussed.

REFERENCES 1. CROWN, S. Psychological changes following operations on the frontal lobes. J . cmsult. Psychol.

2. EISDORFER, C., BUSSE, E. W. and COHEN, L. D. The WAIS performance of an aged sample:

3. EYSENCK, H. J. The Dynamics of Anziety and Hysteria. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul,

4. EYSENCK, H. J. The Maudsley Personality Inventory. London: University of London Press, 1959. 5. FIELD, J. G. Two types of tables for use with Wechsler’s Intelligence scales. J . clin. PsychoZ.,

1950, 16, 3-7. 6. KLOVE, H. and REITAN, R. M. Effect of dysphasia and spatial distortion on WB results. A M A

Arch. Neurol. Psychiat., 1958, 80, 708-713. 7. KLOVE, H. Relationship of differential electroencephalographic patterns to distribution of WB scores. Neurology, 1959, 9, 871-876.

1953, 17, 92-99.

The relationship between verbal and performance IQ’s. J . Geront., 1959’14, 197-201.

1957.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTELLECTUAL DETERIORATION AMONG ALCOHOLICS 29

8. MEYER, V. Psychological effects of brain damage. In EYSENCK, H. J. Handbook of Abnormal Psychology. New York: Basic Books, 1961.

9. MORROW, R. S. and MARK, J. C. The correlation of intelligence and neurological findings on twenty-two patients autopsied for brain damage. J . consult. Psychol., 1955, 19, 283-289.

10. NORMAN, R. D. and DALEY, M. F. Senescent changes in intellectual ability among superior older women. J . Geront., 1959, 14, 457-464.

11. PETRIE, ASENATH. Personality changes after pre-frontal leucotomy. Brit. J. Med. Psychol., 1949. 22. 200-207.

I ~ - - ~- _ _ _ _ ..

12. REITAN, R. M. Certain differential effects of left and right cerebral lesions in human adults.

13. Tow, P. M . Personality changes following frontal leucotomy. Oxford: Ozford Medical Publ., J . m p . physiol. Psychol., 1955, @, 474-477.

1955.

ALTERNATIVE NORMS FOR T H E ALCADD BASED ON OUTPATIENT ALCOHOLICS

RAYMOND D. FOWLER, JR. AND J. LAURENCE BERNARD

University of Alabama Milltigeville (Georgia) Hospital

PROBLEM The ALCADD is an objective test developed to discriminate between alcoholics,

social drinkers and non-drinkers. Manson ( l reports that it correctly identifies 97% of alcoholics while incorrectly classifying as alcoholic only about 6% of “social drinkers.” Murphy presented further validation data with females, which con- firmed Manson’s claims.

In standardizing the XLCADD, hlanson“’ utilized a group of alcoholics, 83 male and 40 female, described as ‘ I . . . white, literate beyond the fourth grade level, free of mental deficiency, apparently free from serious deterioration, volunteers, and from Southern California.” .lpproximately two-thirds of the subjects were members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and one-third were hospitalized patients. Although the norms for these two groups are not presented separately, they may well represent extremes, a t least with respect to self-disclosure on a test of this type. Members of Alcoholics Anonymous often tend to maximize their former drinking. Hospitalized patients, on the other hand, are likely to reveal little more than is required of them. Mansori ( * ) confirms the existence of this bimodal distribution in his standardization group. These observations are supported by Murphy(3’ who found a mean ALCADD score of 41.1 for A A members compared with 25.5 for active alcoholics. Later, Manson‘’) has confirmed this finding. In view of the purpose of t.he ALCADD - the discrimination of alcoholic addicts from non-alcoholics - norms on alcoholics who more nearly resemble the “hidden alcoholic” are clearly desirable, since these are presumably the individuals who are to be screened from the general population. Eoth AA members and chronic hospitalized alcoholics are likely to be somewhat different from the undiscovered alcoholic with respect to awareness oi and willing- ness to disclose the extent of pathological drinking.

PROCEDURE h total of 331 alcoholics were included in the present sample; 297 males and 34

females. All were white, literate and cooperative. The subjects were given the ALCADD as part of a routine clinic admission procedure to one of two new state sup- ported outpatient alcoholism clinics. The battery included two additional tests (Otis Test of Mental Ability and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory), a psychiatric evaluation, a social history interview, and a physical examination. The