title: The Alcohol Helplessness Scale and its prediction of depression among problem drinkers.
abstract: Event-specific scales commonly have greater power than generalized scales in prediction of specific disorders and in testing mediator models for predicting such disorders. Therefore, in a preliminary study, a 6-item Alcohol Helplessness Scale was constructed and found to be reliable for a sample of 98 problem drinkers. Hierarchical multiple regression and its derivative path analysis were used to test whether helplessness and self-efficacy moderate or mediate the link between alcohol dependence and depression. A test of a moderation model was not supported, whereas a test of a mediation model was supported. Helplessness and self-efficacy both significantly and independently mediated between alcohol dependence and depression. Nevertheless, a significant direct effect of alcohol dependence on depression also remained.
authors.affiliation: School of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Lidcombe NSW, Australia. G.Sitharthan@cchs.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sitharthan
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hough
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sitharthan
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kavanagh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006380:Helplessness, Learned; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D020377:Self Efficacy