Coping strategies and relapse in alcohol abuse.

This is a study of relapse in problem drinkers and its relation to the employment of techniques for coping with or avoiding tempting situations. A treatment group, consisting of problem drinkers, was instructed in the use of such techniques while another group of drinkers were randomly assigned to a control condition. There was a strong correlation between avoidance of relapse and the use of techniques in both groups but no difference between groups either in relapse or in the use of techniques. There was a tendency for instruction in the use of techniques to be efficient for patients who believed that they could control drinking, but not for others. The treatment seemed to make patients more convinced that it was important to quit drinking.