Two MMPI approaches for identifying alcoholics: evaluation and implications for further research.

Though contrasting MMPI approaches yield opposing conclusions regarding personalities of alcoholics, the relative efficacy of the approaches has not been evaluated. In this study of 309 domiciliary patients, the alcoholism scale and cluster analytic approaches were compared with respect to the identification of alcoholics and excessive-drinking subjects. The MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale significantly identified alcoholics; however, there was no identification with the profiles of the clinical scales generated by the cluster analytic technique. The conclusions suggest the greater efficacy of the alcoholism scale approach and suggest that the clustering strategy might be more fruitfully applied to alcoholism scales.