Krenek M, et al. – In this study, the researchers attempted to explain the life events (LEs)-alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment outcome relationship by statistically modeling the dynamic relationship between negative LEs and alcohol use post-treatment, as it is conceptualized within the dynamic model of relapse. Findings indicated that negative life events were related to increases in subsequent heavy drinking, however, heavy alcohol use was not correlated with changes in negative life events.

Methods

• For the purpose of this study, existing longitudinal data from four hundred seventeen AUD treatment-seeking adults were randomly assigned to 2 demographically comparable samples.
• One sample (N = 208) was utilized to evaluate a series of dynamic bivariate latent change score models that differentially relate latent indicators of distal and proximal negative LEs (i.e., events subjectively rated as negative) and percent heavy drinking days across 12 months.
• On the second sample (N = 209), cross-validation was conducted .

Results

• The analysis in this study showed that distal negative LEs were positively associated with a greater increase in negative LEs, but not heavy drinking, over the subsequent 12 months.
• Findings revealed that proximal negative LEs were significantly related to subsequent increases in heavy drinking, though heavy drinking was not a determinant of change in negative LEs.
• These discoveries were cross-validated with the second sample.