Personality and Reactivity to Alcohol

Case records of 33 US Army volunteers who received varying doses of ethyl alcohol (0.6 to 1.6 gm/kg) are reviewed. Significant relationships are reported between performance on a cognitive task and personality as measured by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and the Army General Intelligence Test. The personality characteristics of the subjects who were relatively resistant to the cognitive decrement produced by the lower doses of alcohol were similar to those reported for chronic alcoholics. At higher doses, however, sensitive subjects had these same characteristics. (Author)