The self-concept of heroin addicts: measurement of the effect of short term detoxification

Includes bibliographical references (pages 59-63)The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of short term detoxification on the self-concept of patients undergoing treatment for heroin dependence. Emphasis was on the development of a patient profile and the psychological testing of selected patients in one clinic. In the first phase of investigation, 203 medical files were surveyed. Phase two included the testing of two groups of 25 patients randomly selected. The standardized Adjective Check List (ACL) was used to evaluate the psychological differences between the control and experimental groups. Results were tabulated using frequency and percentage\ud tables. F-test analysis was used to detect differences between the groups on the 24 individual psychological scales. A chi-square was calculated to determine the overall difference on the ACL test. Significant findings included the following: (1) blacks were underrepresented in the experimental and control groups, (2) a high rate of unemployment and resultant criminal activity was common, (3) multiple drug usage was indicated, and (4) the experimental group tested were significantly better adjusted, psychologically, than the control group. It was concluded that the ACL can be used to evaluate differences in self-concept of patients treated on a short term basis. It was further concluded that the patient's psychological adjustment can be expected to improve because of an increased level of self-conception