THE ROLE OF COPING IN RELAPSE CRISIS OUTCOME - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY OFTREATED ALCOHOLICS

This study investigates the influence of coping on the outcome of a re lapse crisis for a sample of 125 treated alcoholics during the first 1 2 weeks following treatment completion. Both number and type of coping responses were examined Results indicated that survival of a relapse crisis was most strongly related to the number of coping strategies us ed. Termination of a drinking episode was also related to number of co ping responses. In addition, the type of coping strategy influenced su rvival, with the exclusive use of active coping strategies significant ly associated with abstinence outcome compared with the exclusive use of avoidant strategies. Combining active and avoidant strategies appea red to be most effective for terminating a drinking episode. Results a re discussed in the context of the cognitive-behavioral model of relap se, the general literature on coping behavior and the findings of othe r relapse studies.