title: Experiential avoidance, distress tolerance, and substance use cravings among adults in residential treatment for substance use disorders.
abstract: Substance use cravings are a known predictor of relapse to substance use following treatment for a substance use disorder. Thus, research on factors that may be correlated with cravings, and could then be targeted in substance use treatment, is needed. Both distress tolerance and experiential avoidance, similar but distinct constructs, are independently associated with substance use cravings. However, no known research has examined these constructs as simultaneous predictors of substance use cravings, which may have important implications for treatment. The current study examined this in a sample of men and women in residential substance use treatment (n = 117). The authors used pre-existing data from a larger study where men and women were recruited for participation from a residential substance use treatment facility. The majority of the sample was male (n = 87; 74.3%) and Caucasian (92.2%). The mean age was 41.27 (standard deviation = 10.68). Better distress tolerance and lower experiential avoidance were negatively and significantly associated with alcohol and drug cravings, but only experiential avoidance remained significantly and negatively associated with cravings when both predictors were examined simultaneously. The current findings provide preliminary support for the importance of decreasing experiential avoidance in substance use treatment, which may result in reduced substance use cravings.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Ohio University , Athens , Ohio , USA.
authors.forename: Ryan C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Shorey
authors.affiliation: b Delaware State University , Dover, Delaware , USA.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gawrysiak
authors.affiliation: c University of Tennessee , Knoxville , Tennessee , USA.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Elmquist
authors.affiliation: c University of Tennessee , Knoxville , Tennessee , USA.
authors.forename: Meagan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brem
authors.affiliation: d Cornerstone of Recovery , Louisville , Tennessee , USA.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: c University of Tennessee , Knoxville , Tennessee , USA.
authors.forename: Gregory L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Stuart
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D066249:Craving; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064866:Mindfulness; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012114:Residential Treatment; D015144:Southeastern United States; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Substance use; cravings; distress tolerance; experiential avoidance; treatment