Importance of alcohol-related expectations and emotional expressivity for prediction of motivation to refuse alcohol in alcohol-dependent patients.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of alcohol-dependent patients’ emotional expressivity, alcohol-related expectations and socio-demographic factors for prediction of motivation to refuse alcohol consumption.
The study sample consisted of 136 alcohol-dependent patients (100 men and 36 women) undergoing treatment in Kaunas center for addictive disorders.
Only higher expression of negative alcohol-related expectations (std. beta=0.192, P=0.023), higher emotional impulse intensity (std. beta=0.229, P=0.021) and higher expression of positive emotional expressiveness (std. beta=0.021, P=0.020) as well as gender (std. beta=0.180, P=0.049), education (std. beta=-0.137, P=0.038) and alcohol dependency treatment conditions (members of support group after rehabilitation program) (std. beta=0.288, P=0.001; std. beta=0.608, P=0.001) were significant factors for predicting the different level of alcohol-dependent patients motivation to refuse alcohol consumption.
Negative alcohol-related expectations, emotional impulse intensity and positive emotional expressiveness were significant even though quite weak triggers for alcohol-dependent patients’ different level of motivation to refuse alcohol consumption. An assumption could be made that by changing these triggers it is possible to change addictive behavior.
Correspondence to K. Žardeckaitė-Matulaitienė Department of General Psychology, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania. Electronic address: k.zardeckaite-matulaitiene@smf.vdu.lt
Received 23 November 2013, accepted 3 July 2014, available online 29 July 2014.