Difficulties in emotion regulation mediate negative and positive affects and craving in alcoholic patients

Abstract The aim of this study was to assess the mediating effects of difficulties in emotion regulation (DER) on the relations of negative and positive affects to craving in alcoholic patients. 205 treatment-seeking alcoholic outpatients were included. DER, positive and negative affects as well as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Addictive behaviors 2017-08, Vol.71, p.75-81
Main Authors: Khosravani, Vahid, Bastan, Farangis Sharifi, Ghorbani, Fatemeh, Kamali, Zoleikha
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Affect
Aged
Alcohol use
Alcoholic patients
Alcoholics
Alcoholism
Alcoholism - psychology
Alcohols
Craving
Difficulties in emotion regulation
Drinking behavior
Drug dependence
Emotional regulation
Emotions
Female
Humans
Iran
Male
Mental depression
Middle Aged
Positive and negative affects
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Psychiatry
Self destructive behavior
Young Adult
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Summary:Abstract The aim of this study was to assess the mediating effects of difficulties in emotion regulation (DER) on the relations of negative and positive affects to craving in alcoholic patients. 205 treatment-seeking alcoholic outpatients were included. DER, positive and negative affects as well as craving were evaluated by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Positive/Negative Affect Scales, and the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS) respectively. Clinical factors including depression and severity of alcohol dependence were investigated by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) respectively. Results revealed that both increased negative affect and decreased positive affect indirectly influenced craving through limited access to emotion regulation strategies. It was concluded that limited access to emotion regulation strategies may be important in predicting craving for alcoholics who experience both increased negative affect and decreased positive affect. This suggests that treatment and prevention efforts focused on increasing positive affect, decreasing negative affect and teaching effective regulation strategies may be critical in reducing craving in alcoholic patients.
ISSN:0306-4603
1873-6327
DOI:10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.02.029