PROBLEM
Hospitalization due to alcoholism in the naval service has been increasing steadily in recent years. I n early 1972, the Department of Defense adopted a new official stance on alcoholism with emphasis on rehabilitation. Former attitudes of toleration of alcoholic problems, rather than open recognition and treatment, often resulted in increasingly inpaired work performance with eventual unfavorable discharge from the service. Since alcoholism is not deemed cause for compensation, losses were considerable to both the individual and the system. Under the new directives, alcoholics will be encouraged to participate in rehabilitation programs with opportunities for promotion dependent upon demonstrated progress in treatment.
This study examined a sample of hospitalized alcoholics in the naval service and followed up the posthospital adjustment of those returned to duty in order t o gain a better understanding of the nature of the alcoholic problem in the military. As an attempt t o establish base rates of successful adjustment and to identify factors associated with success, this study is a preliminary step toward the development of prognostic guidelines for rehabilitation programs in the Navy with possible application for other settings.
METHOD
During April 1967-September 1968 biographical and clinical data were collected on 4950 Navy enlisted psychiatric male inpatients a t 31 Naval Hospitals. The Ss were inpatients with a primary discharge diagnosis of alcoholism in that sample (N = 142). Mean age of the Ss is shown in Table , by specific alcoholic diagnosis, according t o the DDIC (Department of Defense Disease and Injury Codes) system of classification. ( l )