Depression as a symptom of alcoholism: search for a phenomenon.

A review of the existing literature relative to the symptom of depression in alcoholism indicated that this symptom apparently had not come under direct investigation. Accordingly, 73 consecutively admitted alcoholics were given the Zung scale, a 20-item self-report depression scale, at the beginning and end of a 21-day treatment period. A descriptive analysis of the data indicated that 70% of all the alcoholic patients exhibited mild to deep depression. An ANCOVA indicated that depression as a symptom decreases over time and the rate of decrease is not affected by the type of drug regimen employed. A further analysis of depression by levels (low, mild, high) indicated that amount of change is proportional to the initial level of depression. These findings were discussed in regards to traditional treatment and research strategies.