Moderation for Drunks

Behavior experts have begun to question the long-accepted wisdom that no alcoholic can learn to drink in moderation. In fact, a few recent experiments have indicated that some alcoholics might learn to become social drinkers (TIME, March 15, 1971). Now further evidence comes from the Alcoholism Research Unit in Baltimore City Hospitals. There, according to a report in Behaviour Research and Therapy, alcoholics who were promised a reward for moderation were able to stop after five drinks or fewer.

The subjects were 19 hospitalized chronic alcoholics. All were told that they could have one-ounce drinks whenever they asked for them, with a limit of 24 ounces. On some days, the patients were offered no incentive for not drinking too much. On other days, they were told that if they restricted themselves to five ounces or less, they could work in a laundry (and earn $1 an hour), take part in group therapy, have visitors, chat with other patients and use a recreation room with games, TV and a pool table. The consistency of the results is impressive. On no-reward days, almost all of the patients drank too much. On reward days, by contrast, every one of the alcoholics proved he was able to keep within the five-ounce limit or to stay entirely on the wagon. In short, say the Baltimore researchers, it begins to look as if "abstinence and drunkenness are not the only alternatives for the alcoholic."

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