Group comparisons of coping self-efficacy between alcohol and cocaine abusers seeking treatment.

The Drug-Taking Confidence Questionnaire (DTCQ; H. M. Annis & G. Martin, 1985) assesses situation-specific coping self-efficacy for resisting the use of a particular substance of abuse. This article extends previous research (S. M. Sklar, H. M. Annis, & N. E. Turner, see record 1998-10850-009) by testing the factorial invariance of the DTCQ on a sample of 344 alcohol and 253 cocaine clients. The results confirmed that the 8-factor model based on G A. Marlatt and J. R. Gordon's (1985) high-risk categories for relapse provided a remarkably similar fit across both samples. Alcohol clients were less confident in their ability to resist using than cocaine clients in interpersonal conflict situations, whereas cocaine clients expressed less confidence in temptation-related situations. For both samples, women were more confident than men in positive situations. The findings demonstrate that the DTCQ is sensitive to different situational patterns of self-efficacy between alcohol and cocaine clients and between men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Avoidance coping strategies moderate the relationship between self-efficacy and 5-year alcohol treatment outcomes.

Both self-efficacy and coping strategies are important determinants of functioning for substance use disorder patients, yet little is known about their interrelationship. This study examined the relationship between abstinence self-efficacy and cognitive components of coping (positive reappraisal, cognitive avoidance) for male participants (n = 2,596) from 15 residential substance use disorder treatment programs who were assessed at treatment entry, discharge, and 5-year follow-up. Cognitive avoidance coping moderated the effects of self-efficacy on alcohol use at 5 years, whereas positive reappraisal coping was largely unrelated to outcomes. Specifically, for patients with low self-efficacy, reliance on avoidance coping strategies was associated with poorer alcohol use outcomes, but as self-efficacy increased, the negative influence of avoidance coping strategies diminished. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of coping skills training on generalized self-efficacy and locus of control.

A number of studies have shown that mastery experiences strengthen self-efficacy expectancies that are specific to the mastery situation. In this study I assessed the effects of cognitive–behavioral coping skills training on generalized expectancies concerning self-efficacy and locus of control in test-anxious college students. Compared with a waiting-list control group, the trained subjects exhibited significant decreases on trait and state measures of test anxiety and a higher level of academic performance on classroom tests, as well as changes in specific self-efficacy expectancies relating to test-anxiety management and academic performance. Consistent with generalization predictions derived from self-efficacy theory, the coping skills group also exhibited decreases in general trait anxiety and increased scores on a trait measure of generalized self-efficacy. Locus of control was unaffected by the program, and changes in general self-efficacy were unrelated to changes in locus of control, suggesting the possibility that different parameters of experience are related to changes in the two types of generalized expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress and alcohol use: Moderating effects of gender, coping, and alcohol expectancies.

A stressor vulnerability model of stress-induced drinking was tested in a stratified random sample of 1,316 Black and White adult drinkers. Stressors were highly predictive of both alcohol use and drinking problems among men who relied on avoidant forms of emotion coping or held strong positive expectancies for alcohol's effects and accounted for more than 35% of the variance in alcohol use among the subgroup of men who were high in both vulnerability factors. In contrast, stressors were negatively related among men who were low in both and were unrelated among women regardless of their coping or expectancies. These findings suggest that tension reduction theories of alcohol use are overly broad and that individual characteristics must be considered to account for stress-related effects on alcohol use and abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Demographic, individual, and interpersonal predictors of adolescent alcohol and marijuana use following treatment.

A vulnerability model of adolescent substance abuse treatment outcome provided the basis for selection of demographic, individual, interpersonal, and treatment factors to predict the follow-up use of alcohol and marijuana in a sample of 225 adolescents (aged 12–18 yrs) with psychoactive substance use disorders. Pretreatment levels of sibling substance use and aftercare participation predicted alcohol and marijuana use during the first 6 mo posttreatment. Pretreatment levels of deviant behavior also predicted the use of marijuana at 6-mo follow-up. Peer substance use at intake and 6-mo posttreatment both predicted substance use frequency outcomes at 12-mo follow-up. Alcohol and marijuana use frequencies at 6-mo follow-up also predicted continued use for these substances throughout the remainder of the 1st posttreatment year. Shorter treatment length and being male were risk factors for alcohol use during the 2nd half of the 1st posttreatment year. Elevated psychological substance dependence at 6-mo follow-up was a unique risk factor for subsequent marijuana use. Findings support conceptual models that attempt to explain adolescent substance abuse treatment outcome in terms of relationships among demographic, individual, interpersonal, and treatment factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A coping skills model of psychological diagnosis and treatment.

Presents a model for psychological diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders that is based on coping skills rather than on symptoms or pathologies. Coping skills, defined broadly as components of adaptability, are classified into 3 general areas: interpersonal relationships, thinking and feeling, and approaches to self and life. These 3 areas are further divided into 11 coping-skills categories. This model is intended to be applicable to all ages. It requires systematic assessment of an individual's current life situation in relation to that person's coping skills and coping-skills deficiencies. After such an assessment, interventions are directed toward assisting the individual to enhance appropriate coping skills. It is anticipated that this coping skills model may be used both independently and in conjunction with other diagnostic systems. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in premenstrual symptoms and irrational thinking following cognitive-behavioral coping skills training.

Women reporting severe premenstrual symptoms were allocated nonrandomly to a cognitive-behavioral coping skills treatment (n?=?13), a nonspecific treatment (n?=?12), or a waiting-list group (n?=?12). Repeated measures analyses of variance showed that, compared with control Ss, the coping skills group reported significant reductions in premenstrual symptomatology and irrational thinking at posttreatment and at 9-mo follow-up. There were no significant differences between the waiting-list and control intervention groups at any time of testing. It was suggested that the increased irrationality reported at pretreatment should be viewed not as a "cause" of premenstrual problems but as a product of the stresses experienced in the premenstruum phase. The findings of this study indicate that cognitive-behavioral coping skills treatments can reduce the negative effects of premenstrual symptoms and that those reductions can be maintained over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Course of functioning in adolescents 1 year after alcohol and other drug treatment.

Clinical course was studied in 131 male and female adolescents with current alcohol use disorder (AUD) at baseline (BL). Participants were classified into 4 groups according to their diagnosis and drinking pattern 1 year later. The 4 groups were compared with each other and with 37 community control participants. Results showed that over half of the clinical sample no longer had a current AUD at 1 year; about 64% were and 36% were not still drinking. BL discriminators of 1-year status were alcohol dependence, other drug use, and coping. All of the clinical groups tended to show improvement at 1 year in the main dependent variables, and the abstainers' level of drug use and coping were comparable with that of the community participants. These findings suggest that many adolescents improve in functioning during the 1 year after alcohol and drug treatment and that a stress and coping model is useful for studying clinical course of AUDs in adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Outcomes of treatment for alcohol problems: Current methods, problems, and results.

This overview of current methods, problems, and results of psychological treatment for alcohol abuse, including alcoholism, begins by considering three common and troublesome assumptions about such treatment. A discussion of external and internal validity problems that are specific to alcoholism treatment research follows, and promising solutions are reviewed. Current data are discussed on who is treated for alcohol problems in this country. Next, detailed consideration is given to factors that predict response to alcoholism treatment, including variables associated with treatment type, setting, and intensity; such factors specific to patients as age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and education, psychopathology, marital and occupational status, and motivation for change; and environmental and other extratreatment factors. The article concludes with a review of current data on nonproblem-drinking treatment goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol demand, delayed reward discounting, and craving in relation to drinking and alcohol use disorders.

A behavioral economic approach to alcohol use disorders (AUDs) emphasizes both individual and environmental determinants of alcohol use. The current study examined individual differences in alcohol demand (i.e., motivation for alcohol under escalating conditions of price) and delayed reward discounting (i.e., preference for immediate small rewards compared to delayed larger rewards) in 61 heavy drinkers (62% with an AUD). In addition, based on theoretical accounts that emphasize the role of craving in reward valuation and preferences for immediate rewards, craving for alcohol was also examined in relation to these behavioral economic variables and the alcohol-related variables. Intensity of alcohol demand and delayed reward discounting were significantly associated with AUD symptoms, but not with quantitative measures of alcohol use, and were also moderately correlated with each other. Likewise, craving was significantly associated with AUD symptoms, but not with alcohol use, and was also significantly correlated with both intensity of demand and delayed reward discounting. These findings further emphasize the relevance of behavioral economic indices of motivation to AUDs and the potential importance of craving for alcohol in this relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Drinking and desired self-images: Path models of self-image goals, coping motives, heavy-episodic drinking, and alcohol problems.

Coping motives for drinking initiate alcohol-related problems. Interpersonal goals, which powerfully influence affect, could provide a starting point for this relation. Here we tested effects of self-image goals (which aim to construct and defend desired self-views) and compassionate goals (which aim to support others) on heavy-episodic drinking and alcohol-related problems. Undergraduate drinkers (N=258) completed measures of self-image and compassionate goals in academics and friendships, coping and enhancement drinking motives, heavy-episodic drinking, and alcohol-related problems in a cross-sectional design. As predicted, self-image goals, but not compassionate goals, positively related to alcohol-related problems. Path models showed that self-image goals relate to coping motives, but not enhancement motives; coping motives then relate to heavy-episodic drinking, which in turn relate to alcohol-related problems. Self-image goals remained a significant predictor in the final model, which accounted for 34% of the variance in alcohol-related problems. These findings indicate that self-image goals contribute to alcohol-related problems in college students both independently and through coping motives. Interventions can center on reducing self-image goals and their attendant negative affect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The male role, alcohol use, and alcohol problems: A structural modeling examination in adult women and men.

Most research on sex differences in alcohol involvement suggests that drinking is a component of the male gender role, but the impact of specific male role factors on alcohol involvement has not yet been studied. The authors used structural modeling to examine the relationships among 3 male role variables (agency, traditional male role attitudes, and masculine gender role stress), alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related problems in a sample of women and men. To determine whether sex moderates this relationship, models were computed separately for men and women. For men, traditional attitudes led to more alcohol consumption, whereas agentic traits protected them from experiencing alcohol-related problems, and experiencing masculine gender role stress was a risk factor for these problems. Male role variables were unrelated to women's alcohol consumption, but women who believed more in the traditional role of men suffered from more alcohol-related problems. Discussion centers on the contribution of components of the male role on alcohol outcomes as well as the different implications for men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Value of career-decision-making self-efficacy in predicting career-decision-making attitudes and skills.

233 undergraduates (162 women and 71 men) completed a demographics questionnaire and measures of career-decision-making (CDM) self-efficacy (K. M. Taylor and N. E. Betz, 1983), CDM attitudes (J. O. Crites, 1978), and CDM skills (D. E. Super et al, 1981). Results revealed that CDM self-efficacy was moderately and positively related to CDM attitudes and age of participants (p?     

Religiosity, alcohol use attitudes, and alcohol use in a national sample of adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to investigate alcohol use attitudes as a mediator of the relationship between religiosity and the frequency of past month alcohol use in a national sample of adolescents. Data were drawn from 18,314 adolescents who participated in the 2006 and 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Variables included religiosity, alcohol use attitudes, and past month frequency of alcohol use. Structural equation modeling was used to test alcohol use attitudes as a mediator of the relationship between religiosity and frequency of alcohol use and to test model invariance across 4 racial/ethnic groups. Results suggest that alcohol use attitudes partially mediate the relationship between religiosity and frequency of alcohol use. Furthermore, while the pattern of these relationships is similar across racial/ethnic groups, the magnitude of alcohol use attitudes on frequency of alcohol use differed. Implications for prevention programs include targeting alcohol use attitudes in a variety of settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression, alcohol use, and smoking over one year: A four-wave longitudinal causal model.

Longitudinal data collected at 4 periods from an adult community sample (N?=?742) were used to study the relationships between depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies—Depression Scale), alcohol use, and smoking in a latent-variable causal model. Over a 1 yr period, current levels of depression were dependent upon depression levels at all previously measured times. In the short term, alcohol use led to decreased levels of depression, but the long-term causal effects—taking 1 yr to unfold—were that alcohol use led to slightly heightened depression levels. The effects of depression on increased alcohol use was relatively short term. Smoking level was very stable and neither influenced nor was changed by depression. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preliminary examination of Spring Break alcohol use and related consequences.

The authors examined the extent to which college student drinkers are at risk for experiencing negative alcohol-related consequences during Spring Break. A sample of first-year college student drinkers (N = 726) participated by completing an online survey assessing typical drinking, as well as Spring Break drinking and related consequences. Findings suggest Spring Break drinking was positively associated with alcohol-related consequences during Spring Break, even after controlling for sex and typical drinking. Furthermore, results indicated that typical drinking moderated the relationship between Spring Break drinking and expected zero-values (i.e., not reporting any Spring Break consequences), such that the association between Spring Break drinking and the likelihood of being a zero-score was less evident for those who are typically lighter drinkers. Identifying and examining temporal and contextually relevant events and associated drinking is critical for understanding and ultimately preventing extreme drinking and associated consequences associated with specific events like Spring Break, which place many students at high risk for experiencing acute harm. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in coping style and treatment outcome following motor vehicle accident.

Background: Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) are highly prevalent and can result in a complex interplay of physical injury, disability, and emotional distress. It has been suggested that the manner in which individuals cope with pain experienced after injury may determine how much recovery of function can be achieved. Only a limited number of studies have examined this process in the context of a rehabilitation program, and to date few studies have examined both functional and quality of life outcomes in MVA recovery in a tertiary level program as a function of coping style. Methods: A sample of 96 consecutive referrals to a tertiary-level multidisciplinary functional restoration program completed physical performance measures pre- and post-treatment, as well as a standardized self-report measure of quality of life (QOL) at the same time points and 6-month follow-up. Results: Findings suggested that improvements from pre- to post-treatment were evident on the 6-minute walk test, left and right grip strength, and most QOL measures. Increases in active coping during treatment were associated with pre- to post-treatment increases in QOL across most domains, and improvements in performance on the 6-minute walk test. Likewise, decreases in passive coping during the course of treatment were associated with improved performance on the 6-minute walk test, right-handed standing reach test, and most QOL indicators. Conclusion: Findings suggest that those who adopt an active approach (and avoid taking a passive approach) to rehabilitation following complex musculoskeletal injury benefit along both QOL and functional dimensions relative to those who do not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in self-control problems and attention problems during middle school predict alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use during high school.

Although deficits in impulse control have been linked to adolescent use of alcohol and illicit drugs, less attention has been given to variability in change in impulse control across adolescence and whether this variability may be a signal of risk for early substance use. The goals of the current study were to examine growth in two aspects of impulse control, self-control problems and attention problems, across middle adolescence, and to test the prospective effects of level and change in these variables on levels and change over time in substance use. Data are from a community sample of 955 adolescents interviewed (along with their parents and teachers) annually from 6th to 11th grade. Results indicated that greater self-control problems and attentional problems in the 6th grade and increases in these problems over time were associated with higher levels of substance use at 11th grade. Our results suggest that modeling change over time enhances the understanding of how impulse control influences the development of substance use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cloninger's constructs related to substance use level and problems in late adolescence: A mediational model based on self-control and coping motives.

Predictions concerning mediating processes for the effects of C. R. Cloninger's (see record 1988-17186-001) constructs were tested; criterion variables were substance use level and substance use problems. Participants were 1,225 adolescents (M age: 15.5 years). Structural modeling indicated indirect effects for novelty seeking, harm avoidance, and task reward dependence, mediated through self-control; harm avoidance also had an inverse direct path to substance use level, and social reward dependence had a positive direct path to coping motives for substance use. Good self-control had inverse paths to life events and deviant peer affiliations; poor self-control had positive paths to life events and coping motives; and risk taking had positive paths to coping motives and peer affiliations. Coping motives had a path to level and a direct path to problems; peer affiliations had a path only to substance use level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of continuing care adherence on environmental risks, substance use, and substance-related problems following adolescent residential treatment.

The effectiveness of adolescent treatment to reduce substance use has been demonstrated by a number of different literature reviews, yet longer term outcome studies have suggested that continued alcohol and other drug use is common. Participation in continuing care services and reductions in environmental risk factors (e.g., peer substance use or alcohol or drug use in the home) have both been found to be associated with improved posttreatment substance use. The authors conducted Path analysis to examine the experimental direct effect of the Assertive Continuing Care Protocol (S. H. Godley, M. D. Godley, & M. L. Dennis, 2001) on general continuing care adherence following residential treatment and the protocol's indirect effect (via general continuing care adherence) on social and environmental risk factors, as well as subsequent substance use and substance-related problems. Supporting previous findings, the final model indicates that greater adherence to continuing care is associated with reductions in environmental risk, which in turn is associated with reduced adolescent substance use and substance-related problems 9 months after discharge from residential treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)