A study of the effect of gender of the Macandrew alcoholism scale̕s ability to identify alcoholic and psychiatric outpatients.

Abstract

The increasing concern over the treatment of chemical dependency has caused an increasing need for proper screening devices. This study investigated the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale scores of four groups: male alcoholic, female alcoholic, male psychiatric, and female psychiatric outpatients. The purpose was to determine if the scale correctly identified diagnosed male and female alcohol dependents at a significantly higher rate than non-alcoholic, psychiatric controls. A two-way analysis of variance was used and the alcoholic groups scored significantly higher than the psychiatric groups. However, no significant differences existed between the gender groups. Results indicated caution in using the MacAndrew scale due to the similarity of the group mean scores and high false positive and negative rates. The limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed.