SUBSTANCE USE RESTRAINT - AN EXTENSION OF THE CONSTRUCT TO A CLINICALPOPULATION

Restraint is a construct of potential use for understanding addictive behaviors. In terms of alcohol and other drug use, restrained individu als are cognitively and behaviorally preoccupied with controlling thei r substance use. previous work in the context of alcohol consumption s uggests that when regulation fails, alcohol and other drug users are m ore likely to engage in excessive; substance use. This proposition was evaluated in a clinical population of alcohol and other substance use rs admitted to an inpatient treatment program. A confirmatory factor a nalysis of alcoholics' responses to the Temptation and Restraint Inven tory, a measure of drinking restraint, replicated the two second-order factors previously reported for social drinkers: Cognitive and Emotio nal Preoccupation (CEP) and Cognitive and Behavioral Control (CBC). CE P scores were a negative predictor of pretreatment percentage of days abstinent and a positive predictor of percentage of drinking days enga ged in heavy drinking, drink; per drinking day, and drinking consequen ces. CBC scores were a negative predictor only of drinks per drinking day. An analysis of drug users' responses to a drug version of the Tem ptation and Restraint Inventory also replicated the previously found C EP and CBC factors Scores on the CEP factor were a positive predictor and scores on the CBC factor a negative predictor of drug use frequenc y. CEP scores also were a positive predictor of drug use consequences. The data taken together represent a potentially useful extension of t he restraint construct to alcoholics and other drug users and support a multifactorial characterization of substance use restraint as reflec ting a reciprocal relationship between restricted and excessive substa nce use.