Self-reported Mood and Drinking Patterns following Hospital Treatment for Alcoholism

129 male subjects were assessed three months following treatment at a VA Hospital Alcohol Rehabilitation Unit. Based upon this assessment, subjects were classified as either abstinent, improved, or unimproved compared to prehospital drinking patterns. On a self-rating mood questionnaire given at the 3 month follow-up, it was found that abstinent subjects had a very low degree of affective disturbance. The unimproved subjects had the highest level with the improved subjects falling intermediate to the other two groups. The results are discussed in terms of a possible pattern of denial by abstinent subjects.