A Study of Psychological Trauma in Patients with Alcohol Dependence

Abstract

Psychological trauma is the psychological impact of emotions, thoughts and feelings emanating from distressing memories of violent incidents, including both natural disasters and human actions, and may be a factor involved in alcohol dependence. The purpose of this study was to examine psychological trauma in patients with alcohol dependence

                 A sample group was selected from among patients diagnosed with alcohol dependence who had been admitted as in-patients of Suanprung Psychiatric Hospital, Chiang Mai. The 95 subjects were identified over the period February - March 2014 using study instruments which included:1) demographic data;           2) questionnaires on exposure to traumatic events and the symptoms of trauma; 3) open-ended questions on alcohol use with psychological trauma; and 4) AUDIT.

                 The results of the study revealed that the subjects had suffered from one or more of the following: 1) catastrophic flooding and consequent evacuation from their home; 2) domestic violence, usually involving the destruction of property under the influence of alcohol; 3) abandonment in childhood, primarily by parents; 4) human trafficking, with one female subject reporting having been kidnapped, forced into prostitution and raped; 5) sexual abuse, primarily as a witness to this and not as a victim; 6) experience of war, combat and/or civil strife, primarily by members of the police or armed forces who had witnessed or identified relatives or friends with critical physical injuries; 7) evacuation, with two subjects being forced to hide and escape from harm; 8) accidents, primarily injuries from traffic or workplace accidents; and 9) head injuries, experienced by the majority of the sample group.

                 The sample of 95 people scored from 2.5 upwards on the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, which also indicated that 30 subjects (31.6 percent) evinced psychological trauma symptoms. Additionally, there was a statistically significant positive correlation between psychological trauma and alcohol dependence (p<0.01,   r = .727).

                 The findings of this study revealed the importance of identifying psychological trauma in patients with alcohol dependence, resulting in their being prescribed further specific psychosocial treatment.

Keywords: psychological trauma,   patients , alcohol dependence.