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Abstract
Background: Relapse may occur suddenly, following a short period of craving, or after extended consideration. The time to relapse may reveal underlying mechanisms of relapse and have important implications for treatment. Objective: The Time to Relapse Questionnaire (TRQ), a self-administered questionnaire, was designed to assess the time from the initial thought of drug use to actual use. Methods: Psychometric properties of the TRQ were evaluated in two distinct populations (n = 183 and 194) with DSM-IV primary substance use disorders. Results: Factor analysis and item refinement led to a 9-item TRQ with a three-factor solution accounting for 63% of the total variance. Three discrete types of relapse style were identified: Sudden Relapse, Short Delay Relapse, and Long Delay Relapse. The TRQ demonstrated good construct validity and adequate internal consistency for the total (α = .61) and individual factor (α = .64–.75) scores. Measures to assess convergent validity of the TRQ suggest that Sudden Relapse may not reflect more generalized deficits of inhibitory control. Conclusions and Significance: The TRQ may provide a useful self-report measure to discriminate between addicted patients who relapse without forewarning compared to those with a period of delay. Clinical interventions may be targeted towards different relapse styles.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank Adrienne Isaminger and Julia Shields for their assistance in data collection and entry. The staffs of the Dallas VA Medical Center and Homeward Bound, Inc., are also thanked for working with us in assessing their patients. This research was supported, in part, by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA11434, DA18843), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA11570), and the Department of Veterans Affairs.