The purpose of this study is to investigate the relapse factors of alcoholic pati -ents though the application of the grounded theory, and to identify the important
variables and theorectical proposition which had been neglected in the previous studi...
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relapse factors of alcoholic pati -ents though the application of the grounded theory, and to identify the important
variables and theorectical proposition which had been neglected in the previous studies. As a result of this investigation, Ihope to provide the information we need in order to improve the rehabilitation programs for alcoholic patients as well
as the fundamental knowledge required to facilitate the rehabilitation process of
alcoholic patients.
The subjects of this study were 11 patients who had been diagnosed with alco-
holism and were later reinstitutionalized at hospital D located in Busan.
The data were collected by means of in-depth interviews and participant obser
-vations. The interview lasted average one hour per person and was conducted once for each of the patients. The research began in October, 2001 and ended in April, 2002.
The data were collected though the interviews I conducted, and were analyzed by the methods proposed by Strauss and Corbin(1991).
The major category which has been found in the relapse of the alcoholic pati- ents is "a stage in the process of recovery or a stage in the chronic progre- ssion of alcoholism". The other categories include pessimistic behaviors, physical
discomfort, alcohol craving, multiple stress situation, absence of hope or meaning of life, feeling of isolation, expectation for controlling drinking, lack of familial understanding or support for alcoholism, discontinuation of treatment or nonatten
-dance of AA meetings, personality problems, low awareness level of the past alcohol abuse, social pressure of alcohol consumption.
Based on the research results, I have derived the following proposition.
(1) Patients tend to have expectation for controlled drinking without a clear per- ception of alcohol abuse.
(2) Alcohol craving is a chronic phenomenon regardless of the period of soberness
(3) Lack of familial understanding or support for alcoholism aggravates codepen- dency
(4) Multiple stress situations and social pressure for drinking pose risks to main- taining sober period.
(5) Personality problems deteriorate as alcoholism advances.
(6) Pessimistic behaviors and physical discomfort cause longing for drinking.
(7) Nonattendance of AA meetings and discontinuation of recovery activities are a sign of relapse of alcoholism.
(8) As alcoholism advances, the feeling of isolation gets stronger.
(9) The motivation of abstinence becomes weaker when a continuing observation on alcohol abuse is not present.
(10) Having hopes or meanings of life strengthens the motivation of abstinence.
As a result of observation of the relapse factors, it has found that multiple factors as a compound body function as an influence. The perception of problems
of alcoholism and making changes in the patients' life by investigating the relapse
phenomenon provides an ultimate opportunity for a successful recovery. This imp -lies the importance of approaching the relapse period as a compound model ra- ther than a idiosyncratic one.
I conclude my study hoping to design a rehabilitation program which prevents and tackle Korean-specific alcoholism as well as studies that would generalize the
relapse factors.