Persistence predicts latency to relapse following inpatient treatment for alcohol dependence.

Male alcoholics (N = 85) were followed for 6 months after inpatient treatment for alcohol dependence. Latency to relapse was predicted by two related persistence measures (the RD2 Persistence scale and the Orderliness/Persistence factor scale of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire, TPQ) as well as by job status at the time of admission to treatment, a history of vagrancy or public intoxication, amount of prior substance abuse treatment and the number of criteria met for a diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder. Persistence predicted relapse latency even when the other predictors were used as covariates, supporting the hypothesis that normal-range personality variables may enhance the prediction of clinical outcome. Further, the relations between TPQ scales and antisocial behavior as well as the severity of alcohol dependence were examined.

Affective correlates of alcohol and cocaine use.

The affective correlates of alcohol and cocaine use were investigated in two studies. In the first, alcoholics (n = 50) and cocaine addicts (n = 40) were administered factor scales from the Inventory of Drinking Situations as well as the General Temperament Survey. Substance use in negative affect states was reported more often by alcoholics than by cocaine addicts, even when age and race differences were statistically controlled. Alcoholics also reported higher levels of negative temperament, and substance use in negative affect states was correlated with negative temperament across groups. In a study using subjects dependent on both drugs (n = 21), alcohol was more likely to be used in negative affect situations than was cocaine. Thus, the affective correlates of substance use are associated with both individual differences and drug-specific effects. Possible reasons for the differential association of alcohol with negative affect are proposed.