SOCIAL PSYCHIATRIC STUDIES OF ALCOHOLISTS; ESPECIALLY ON SOLITARY LIFE

Recently, together with the increase of alcohol consumption, it was reported that the number of alcoholists in our country amounted to 2.2 million people. Here, I took notice of solitary people's dependence to alcohol, and tried a reseach especially on the solitary who received medical support under Livelihood Protection Law. Medical history of each victim was sampled from Reports (concerning hospitalization of mental disorder victims) sent to Welfare Office of Tokyo, during Oct. -Nov. 1984, and completed with cooperation of hospitals in Tokyo and the vicinity. 88 out of 143 samples were available, and are summarized below. Average age of victims was 49.2 years (alcoholist's age advanced) ; Interrelation between hospitalized experience and age victims hospitalized 1-2 times and 7 times were the majority, and hospitalized experience increased in proporion to age; 62.5% victims only received compulsory education; and other mostly low education; 31.8% lived in Tokyo, 50.0% in other area (residence unknown 18.2%) ; this shows the tendency of alcoholists to live where they can make their living without regular occupation (like in Tokyo) ; 46.6% were once married or had a cohabitant (9.1% unknown) . In March 1984, Mental Hygiene Comittee of Tokyo manifested a report on“consolidation of medical organization for alcoholic mental disorder”followed by Welfare Ministry's View on alcoholic related problems. These consideration should follow in it's importance, emergency policy and physical amalgamation policy being discussed to consolidate mental hospitals of Tokyo, but it still seems difficult to apply them to solitaries. Sampled victims here need not only day-care, welfare facilities, facilities for women and aged, emergency and hospital treatment planned in the reports, but also training to adapt themselveds to society. More qualified counselors are needed to work this out and also staffs to educate these counselors must be prepared. Higher age society makes the environment surrounding alcoholists more complex. This indicates the need for intermediate facility in the future.