title: Beliefs as a predictor of relapse in alcohol-dependent Turkish men.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the current study was to evaluate the role of beliefs about alcohol use and craving on predicting relapse as stated in Beck's cognitive theory of alcoholism in detoxified alcohol-dependent patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy male participants who were alcohol dependent according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), and who were admitted to an inpatient unit for alcohol detoxification were studied at baseline and at 6 months follow-up. Participants were administered the Structured Clinical Interviews for DSM-IV axis I and DSM-III-R axis II Disorders (SCID-I and SCID-II, respectively), the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the revised Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol (CIWA-Ar). Beliefs about alcohol use were assessed with the Beliefs About Substance Use Inventory and the Craving Beliefs Questionnaire (CBQ).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The relapse rate of the study group was 84.1% (58 patients). The age of onset of alcohol dependence and age at first hospitalization were lower in patients who relapsed. The severity of physical dependence and presence of comorbid antisocial personality disorder were higher in the relapse group. In addition, patients who relapsed had higher scores in the CBQ. According to logistic regression analysis, craving beliefs and the degree of physical dependence were predictors of relapse in alcoholic patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that beliefs about craving and the severity of physical dependence may play an important role in relapse of male alcoholic patients. These factors could have a direct clinical application for predicting relapse to drinking in male alcohol-dependent patients.
authors.affiliation: Medical University of South Carolina Institute of Psychiatry, 67 President Street, P.O. Box 250861, Room 502N, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, USA.
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Turkcapar
authors.forename: Samet
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kose
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ince
authors.forename: Hugh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Myrick
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003469:Culture; D003710:Demography; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D012008:Recurrence; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology