TRANSFORMATION OF THE SELF IN ALCOHOLISM AND RECOVERY

University Of Michigan At Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

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Abstract

Recovery from alcoholism has been the focus of a vast amount of theoretical and empirical work. Yet recidivism rates for alcoholism continue to be as high as 50 percent. There is broad consensus within the clinical and empirical literature that the self-concept is centrally involved inalcoholism and the process of recovery, however, the nature of the "alcoholic" self and its role in recovery is largely unknown. Existing clinical models suggest that the self of alcoholics is impoverished and that the route to recovery is through the development of new and meaningful domains of self-definition. Currently, however, there is little empirical evidence to support this contention. Furthermore, controversy exists as to whether the "alcoholic" self-conception contributes to the alcohol abuse behaviors or is a key determinant in recovery. This exploratory study will use the cognitive model in which the self-concept is defined as a collection of cognitions about the self to examine group differences in the number, valence, and interrelatedness of self- schemas, and explore the availability of the "alcoholic" self- schema in adults categorized according to level of severity of alcoholism diagnosis and stage of behavioral change as defined by the Transtheoretical Model of Behavioral Change (Prochaska and DiClemente, 1991). This study will provide the foundation necessary for the development of interventions aimed at altering the self-concept to promote recovery from alcoholism.