Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

 

The effect of a memory retraining program as a neuropsychological rehabilitation technique for nontoxic chronic alcoholics Public Deposited

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/rf55zb87m

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  • The Purpose of the Study This study was undertaken to design, implement, and assess the effectiveness of a memory retraining program. The design was a true experimental design with pretest/posttest control group and randomized selection of experimental group. The principle hypothesis was that there would be a significant difference between the treatment group and the control group i memory test scores from pretest to posttest. The Procedures A total of 59 subjects, 90% male and all over 18, participated as treatment in an Alcohol Treatment Program. Data was collected from four 4-week programs. The Dooks Memory Test and Trailmaking A and B were used to evaluate memory. Subjects who gave informed consent were pretested the first day of the program and posttested the last week. The subjects for the treatment condition were then chosen at random; control subjects were involved in other treatment modalities. At the end of the program a seminar summarizing the memory retraining program was offered to control subjects. The Memory Retraining group met two days a week in 90-minute sessions for four weeks. The content of the course emphasized observation, attention, and concentration. Association strategies were used with emphasis on imagery techniques. Both treatment and control group members were posttested with alternate forms of the Dooks Memory Test, and with the Trailmaking Test A and B. Summary of Results The analysis of covariance produced a significant main effect of the Memory Retraining Program. Additionally, three of the six subtests also showed a significant main effect. These results point to a significant effect of the Memory Retraining Program on the experimental group. The statistical analysis also pointed to a significant effect from Age and IQ. There were no interaction effects between age and treatment or IQ and treatment, and no other independent variables (education, duration, days since last drnk, depression) were significant. The L.S.O. test indicated that the significant difference in Age was between the youngest and oldest divisions, and that the significant difference in IQ was between the "Dull Normal" group and the "Bright" group. These results suggested a significant difference between these groups on performance on the memory test. There was a low correlation between IQ and memory change scores. Summary of Conclusions The results of this study point to the potential effectiveness of a memory retraining program for a variety of educational levels, age groups, and IQ scores. This program was also effective for the specific population of alcoholics regardless of the length of abstinence, length of drinking history, or severity of depression.
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