A Comparative Study on Rorschach Profiles of Regular Drinkers, Occasional Drinkers, and Non-Drinkers

Research evidences a close link between alcohol abuse and problems that are taxing to the physical, mental as well as social wellbeing of the individual and in the long run, causing a threat to her/his dignity in general. The present study was designed to examine the differences in personality and perceptual styles of persons from three different levels of alcohol consumption, i.e., regular drinkers, occasional drinkers and, non-drinkers, by analyzing their Rorschach profiles. A purposive sample of 45 male subjects (aged 16-52 years), with an equal number of 15 regular drinkers, occasional drinkers, and non-drinkers were administered the Rorschach Inkblot Test (Rorschach, 1921). The responses were scored according to Beck’s scoring system (Beck, 1961). One-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to examine the differences among the groups with respect to their responses. Analyses revealed significant differences among the three groups only in terms of s, A% and, H responses suggesting that the groups differ from each other with respect to oppositional level, awareness of the environment, capacity to form interpersonal relationships. Results of Bonferroni’s post-hoc tests suggest that the occasional drinkers were found to be showing significantly more uncooperative behavior (s) than the regular drinkers, but not the non-drinkers. The non-drinkers have a significantly higher level of environmental awareness (A%) and higher level of concern for a healthy, peaceful society which regular drinkers do not show. The regular drinkers were found to be significantly better at making interpersonal relations (H) in comparison to the other two groups. On all other categories of responses, the three groups were found to be comparable with each other.