Psychological profile of social drinkers.

In a cross-sectional study, the psychological profile of light social drinkers was compared with that of heavy social drinkers and alcohol-dependent patients who showed no evidence of clinical depression. The selection of psychological tests was based on the hypothesis that alcohol abuse and depression may sometimes be different expressions of the same disorder, and that the relationship between the two disorders may in part be explicable in terms of shared psychological vulnerability factors. The tests chosen were those thought most likely to predict vulnerability to depression. Dependent patients demonstrated significantly greater distortion of cognitive style than heavy social drinkers, who in turn rated significantly higher than light drinkers. Heavy social drinkers occupied a middle ground with regard to psychological profile between light drinkers and 'alcoholics', sharing some attributes with each. Possible implication for interventions by general practitioners are discussed.