Emotion Regulation Promotes Persistence in a Residential Substance Abuse Treatment

Abstract

Emotion regulation at treatment entry was evaluated among 115 patients in an inner-city substance use residential facility who either persisted (N = 94) or discontinued treatment (N = 21). Emotion regulation capacity including emotional clarity and the ability to engage in goal-directed behavior despite emotional distress, as well as lower scores on a measure of trait-negative emotionality, were associated with treatment persistence, whereas motivational variables were not. Findings indicate the importance of regulating negative emotions for treatment engagement among substance abusers.

Keywords :

• Emotion regulation
• Dropout
• Substance Abuse
• Negative emotionality
• Persistence

THE AUTHORS

Dr. Hopwood is an associate professor of clinical psychology at Michigan State University. He is an Associate Editor for Assessment and Journal of Personality Disorders and is a board member of the Society for Interpersonal Theory and Research and the North American Society for the Study of Personality Disorders. His research focuses on personality pathology, personality assessment, and interpersonal processes relevant to clinical practice.

Nick Schade, M.S., is a recent graduate from Michigan State University. His research interests center around personality and interpersonal problems.

Alexis Matusiewicz, M.S., is a doctoral student in clinical psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park and is a predoctoral intern at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. Alexis's research seeks to identify emotional and motivational factors associated with engagement in risk behavior among people with borderline personality disorder and substance use disorders.

Dr. Daughters is an Associate Professor in the Clinical Psychology program in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Her research expertise includes the neurobiological and behavioral mechanisms underlying addiction, with a focus on stress and mood disorders, and the translation of this knowledge into effective treatments.

Dr. Lejuez is a professor and the director of clinical training in the clinical psychology program at the University of Maryland. He is the Founder and Director of the Center for Addictions, Personality, and Emotion Research (CAPER), Co-Director of a NIDA T32 Institutional Training Program at the intersection of basic science and addictions treatment development, and Founding Editor of the American Psychological Association Journal Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment. His research has been continually funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 2002 and he has published extensively in the areas of addictions, personality pathology, and mood disorders.

GLOSSARY

• Emotion Regulation: The capacity to be aware of and manage negative emotions.

• Negative Emotionality: A temperamental disposition to experience negative emotions such as anger, sadness, and anxiety.

• Treatment Motivation: The desire to be in treatment in order to make personal changes.

• Treatment Persistence: Continuing in treatment up to contracted or mutual termination with a clinician.