Social and psychological characteristics of alcoholics: a male--female comparison.

Male and female alcoholics from a public health clinic were compared on social and psychological characteristics. Although sex was not found to be associated with the number of close friends reported by subjects, it was found to be significantly associated with designations of the alcoholic's "significant others", incidence of marital difficulty and with scores on the Definition of Alcohol Scale and the Neuroticism Index. There was a statistically significant relationship between sex and the number of social complications resulting from alcohol abuse; however, male and female alcoholics conceptualized their drinking as a problem in strikingly similar ways.