[Social conditions of the clientele attending the outpatient clinic for alcoholics in the County of Vejle. A re-examination].

A questionnaire investigation was performed among the clients attending the four outpatient clinics in the County of Vejle. The object of this investigation was to register aspects of the social conditions of 246 clients, to illustrate the present conditions and to observe changes as compared with previous conditions. The clientele attending outpatient clinics for alcoholics is still an extremely stressed group but, in several respects, the conditions are now better than previously. Nowadays, more of the clients had had prolonged school education and their earnings were relatively higher. Fewer clients lived in one room, fewer had received economic assistance, fewer were in social group V, fewer had come down in the world socially, and much fewer lived under extremely stressed circumstances. The clients lived most frequently alone. Nearly 40% had current or previous mixed addiction. Despite a relatively great number of new clients, the duration of addiction was now apparently longer to institution of treatment. Considerably fewer people under the age of 30 years now sought treatment in outpatient clinics for alcoholics. The authors consider that it is important that attractive offers of outpatient treatment of alcoholics are still available, one of the reasons being the possibility of altering the abuse as early as possible.