The Little Engine that Could

                Alcohol abuse is damaging. I doubt there is anyone that would disagree. With all of the increased research in psychology it has left several people wondering why someone has not created a full proof method for treatment of Alcohol abuse. It is difficult to find a treatment with 100% positive results. That is mostly because much is still debated on whether being an alcoholic is a disease or a choice. With the debate still unsettled treatment varies. One aspect of recovery for alcohol abuse is the concept of self-efficacy. Individuals who have a more positive self-efficacy seem to do better in recovery. This idea that individuals who have a greater positive view of their ability to abstain from alcohol lead to the question motivation as an additional factor in recovery.

A longitudinal study was performed by the Harvard medical school in an effort to determine the relationship between motivation and self-efficacy and it being possible predictor for substance abstinence. This study took place at a residential inpatient treatment center with 302 participants with the mean age being 20.4 years of age. The length of stay was 4-35 days, M=25.5 days. Participants were given a self-report questionnaire in order to determine their level of self-efficacy and motivation. It was predicted that individuals with a greater level of self-efficacy and motivation would have a greater percentage of days abstaining from drugs/alcohol. Participants were evaluated at the beginning of treatment, upon leaving treatment, 3, 6 and 12 months post treatment. Not all participants were able to be evaluated in person due to living locations. The participants that were able to be evaluated in person took part in a saliva test in order to test for the presence of substance use. One participant had been removed from the study because they had a positive saliva test after claiming abstinence prior to the 3 month evaluation (Kelly & Greene, 2014).   The results of their study indicated a positive correlation between self-efficacy, motivation and percentage of days abstinent. There were several limitations to this study. I do not believe the study design to be the strongest. There are several confounding variables that could not be controlled for. Participants were not screened for any additional disorders prior to participating in the study. The presence of mood disorders could affect an individual’s level of self-efficacy and motivation. Also, since all participants were not given the same saliva test during evaluations it is more difficult to determine if the participants were honest during their evaluations.  Despite limitations it is clear that there is a relationship between motivation, self-efficacy and drug use abstinence. This study does have the potential to lead to further studies that will explore the affects self-efficacy and motivation have on the treatment of substance abuse. 

Abstract 

Reference

Kelly, J. F., & Greene, M. C. (2014). Where There's a Will There's a Way: A Longitudial Investigation of the Interplay Between Recovery Motivation and Self-Efficacy in Predicting Treatment Outcome. Psychology of Addictive Behavior, 28(3), 928-934.