Newswise — People who are able to adapt their self-regulation skills depending on the context are more likely to be successful in quitting harmful drinking. A recent study of U.S. veterans published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Researchfound that the success of a particular coping strategy in helping an individual avoid drinking alcohol depended on their reason for wanting a drink. The findings may help provide more personalized treatment for veterans who are at high risk for alcohol use disorder.
The secondary analysis of 120 veterans receiving treatment at a Veterans’ Administration hospital for alcohol use disorder examined how effective certain coping and emotional regulation strategies were when the contexts for drinking were different. Researchers compared whether or not the veteran had achieved abstinence from alcohol use after six months to assessments of their self-regulation skills and their temptation to drink to deal with certain situations, specifically pain, cravings, a negative mood, or social situations. Fourteen coping strategies were assessed, such as self-distraction, planning, acceptance, suppression, and planning.
The study found that the strategies of acceptance, planning, and suppressing expression of emotion were more or less effective depending on the motivation for drinking. For example, using planning strategies was associated with a higher likelihood of abstinence at six months for those who were tempted to drink to deal with pain. But for those who wanted to drink due to cravings, greater use of acceptance, such as saying to themselves, ‘I can live with this,’ and less use of suppression of emotion was more likely to be associated with abstinence.
The authors of this study suggest that treatment focusing on the adaptiveness of coping and emotional regulation skills may be an important avenue to improving treatment for veterans with alcohol use disorder. Veterans have significantly higher rates of alcohol use disorder than the general population and very high rates of relapse after treatment.
The study sample, although small, was demographically representative of U.S. veterans, including veterans from World War II through to Afghanistan and Iraq, and a high proportion of women. Veterans seek treatment at Veterans Administration hospitals at low rates, so the findings may not be generalizable to other veterans. The treatment programs in which the study participants were enrolled had a goal of complete abstinence from alcohol. Data was collected from 2017 to 2020, prior to a new National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism statement that individuals may be considered recovered from alcohol use disorder without achieving complete abstinence. The participants in this study were being treated for severe alcohol use disorder and had high alcohol consumption as well as medical issues due to their alcohol use.
Context matters: Exploring the adaptive nature of self-regulation skills in predicting abstinence among veterans with alcohol use disorder. C. Dwyer, C. Beatriz-Padula.
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