Kahler C W, Epstein E E, McCrady B S
Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway 08855-0969, USA.
Addiction. 1995 Aug;90(8):1025-36; discussion 1037-51. doi: 10.1046/j.1360-0443.1995.90810252.x.
The constructs "loss of control" and "inability to abstain" have been used extensively in alcohol research. Examination of the literature, however, reveals inconsistencies in the ways researchers have operationalized and measured these constructs and a dearth of empirical investigation of the validity of the constructs. The current study examines a number of methods of operationalizing loss of control and inability to abstain and investigates the relationship of the two constructs with each other. Ninety-seven male alcoholics who participated in an outpatient conjoint alcoholism treatment study provided data on pre-treatment alcohol consumption and self-report measures of lifetime drinking behavior. Nine interview or questionnaire items that best approximated items used in the literature to measure inability to abstain and loss of control were chosen for analysis. Items measuring both constructs were highly intercorrelated and were associated more strongly with quantity rather than frequency of alcohol consumption, suggesting significant overlap between the constructs. None of the items were associated with a particular drinking pattern. The results provide support for a unitary dimension of impaired control, as used in the alcohol dependence syndrome, and suggest that the value of loss of control and inability to abstain as distinct and meaningful constructs should be reconsidered.
“失控”和“无法戒酒”这两个概念在酒精研究中被广泛使用。然而，对文献的审视发现，研究人员在对这些概念进行操作化定义和测量的方式上存在不一致之处，而且对这些概念有效性的实证研究也很匮乏。当前的研究考察了多种对失控和无法戒酒进行操作化定义的方法，并探究了这两个概念之间的关系。97名参与门诊联合戒酒治疗研究的男性酗酒者提供了治疗前酒精消费情况以及终生饮酒行为自我报告测量的数据。选取了9个最接近文献中用于测量无法戒酒和失控的项目的访谈或问卷项目进行分析。测量这两个概念的项目高度相互关联，且与酒精消费的量而非频率的关联更强，这表明这两个概念之间存在显著重叠。没有一个项目与特定的饮酒模式相关。研究结果支持了酒精依赖综合征中所使用的控制受损的单一维度，并表明应重新考虑将失控和无法戒酒作为不同且有意义的概念的价值。
