Evaluating the Impact of Alcohol Abstinence on the Cognitive Functioning of Adults Diagnosed with Alcohol Use Disorder

Abstract

People diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD) drink to a point where their lives and those closest to them are impacted negatively. Research supports the relationship between chronic alcohol use and progressive cognitive impairment in patients diagnosed with AUD. The severity of cognitive impairments resulting from AUD varies with age, period of alcohol use, and frequency of consumption. Interventions in alcohol rehabilitation facilities mainly focus on psychosocial factors with a limited focus on cognitive functioning impairment and recovery. The main focus of the present study was to determine the extent to which the cognitive abilities of patients improve after a period of abstinence, specifically their visuospatial attention, working memory, and abstract reasoning abilities. A single group pretest-posttest design was used to assess patients diagnosed with AUD. The assessment was done on two different occasions using the WAIS-IVSA battery. This allowed the researcher to identify and highlight any differences in the results obtained at Phase 1 (3-4 days after admission) and Phase 2 (14 days after Phase 1). The findings from the paired sample t-test revealed that there was no significant difference in assessment scores for abstract reasoning and working memory. A statistically significant increase was found in AUD patients’ visuospatial scores when comparing Phase 1 and 2 (M = 7.11, SD = 2.07), t(8) = 3.42, p = .009.