알코올의존 환자의 충동성 및 공격성에 대한 예비연구 = A Preliminary Study on the Impulsivity and Aggression in Alcohol Dependent Patients

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Object：It is argued that alcoholic patients are more impulsive and aggressive than the normal person. Some studies show that impulsiveness and aggression, shown in alcoholic patients, are not caused by alcohol dependence but by behavioral toxic effects of alcohol itself. However, other studies persist that alcoholic patients have a tendency to be more impulsive and aggressive by nature. This subject is important because it may be a good prognostic factor in the process of alcohol dependence treatment. In this respect, we intended to know whether alcohol dependent patients have a more impulsive and aggressive tendency than the average person, as well as trying to find characteristics of alcohol dependent patients according to their drinking pattern (continuous vs compulsive drinking). Methods：We recruited 122 male alcohol dependent patients who were admitted to Seoul Nat’l Hospital and 124 male volunteers in general population for control. All subjects were assessed by scales: Korean Version of Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), Korean Version of Aggression Questionnnare (AQ), Korean Version of Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS), Three-Dimensional Personality Questionnare (TPQ).
Results：1) Alcohol dependent patients showed higher total score of AUDIT, all of the AQ sub scores except verbal aggression score than that of control group. 2) Alcohol dependent group showed higher OCDS score than that of control group. 3) Novelty-seeking score and harm-avoidance score were higher in alcohol dependent patients. 4) Reward-dependence score did not show significant difference between alcohol dependent patients and control group. 5) There was a significant correlation between impulsiveness and aggressive tendency in alcoholic patients.
The patients who have compulsive drinking pattern have more aggressive tendency. 6) The alcohol dependent patients who showed the higher score of impulsiveness started drinking at younger age. If alcohol dependent patients have more aggressive tendency, they show more binge drinking. Conclusion：The results of this study suggest that alcohol dependent patients have more aggressive tendency, except verbal aggression, and more impulsiveness than normal controls.