We present two studies testing whether self-efficacy mediates the relationship between depression symptoms and initial abstinence duration after substance abuse treatment in adolescents and adults. Study 1: Adolescents (N = 208) were recruited from substance abuse treatment in an urban/ suburban area in the United States between 1999-2005, and followed monthly after discharge. Measures used were affective state (depression symptoms), drug-taking coping self-efficacy, and length of abstinence after treatment. Self-efficacy fully mediated the relationship between depression and time to use. Study 2: In a similar study design, adult Veterans (N = 160) in outpatient substance abuse treatment were interviewed during treatment and monthly following treatment. Depression was negatively associated with self-efficacy, and self-efficacy predicted time to first substance use, but there was no mediation. Study implications and limitations are noted.
KeywordsRelapse; comorbidity; self-efficacy; depression; developmental psychopathology Addressing the process of relapse to addictive behaviors has been challenging for researchers, clinicians and others who seek to understand and treat these behaviors. Cognitive-behavioral models of relapse have emphasized the importance of cognitive and affective factors in predicting the rapidity and severity of return to use following substance abuse treatment among adults and adolescents. These models conceptualize the behavioral process as starting with a "lapse," or initial use of a substance, which, based on many factors, can result in a relapse, or return to problematic use. Previous studies have characterized various factors that increase the likelihood that a lapse will result in a relapse (Brown & Ramo, 2006;Witkiewitz & Marlatt, 2004). However, all of the work leading to our understanding of the relapse process to date has been conducted on adult or adolescent samples separately, resulting in an inability to make direct comparisons between these developmental stages. In order to most effectively examine whether there are distinct differences in the relapse process for youth and adults, it is important to study this process simultaneously in both age groups. The two studies presented here addresses this issue by * Corresponding Author. Tel: +1-415-476-7816; fax: +1-415-476-7375. danielle.ramo@ucsf.edu (D.E. Ramo)..
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Author ManuscriptSubst Use Misuse. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 January 31.
NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript comparing the role of self-efficacy and depression symptoms in the posttreatment relapse process in teens and adults using an similar study design.
Coping self-efficacy and relapseA key variable incorporated within most relapse models is coping self-efficacy, which has been found to influence the course of treatment and patterns of addictive behavior relapse. Defined by Bandura (1995) as "one's capacity to organize and execute courses of action required to manage prospective situations,...