Self-control concerns and drinking loss of control in general and clinical populations

In popular conceptions, loss of control over drinking involves a double loss of control, over one's life as well as over one's drinking. A measure of "control worries," concerning the experience of difficulties in controlling one's life, was developed. The relationships between measures of control worries, loss of control over drinking and heavy-drinking behavior were examined in samples both of alcohol treatment clients and of the general population in a California county. Alcohol treatment clients reported greater control worries and loss of control over drinking than members of the general population. Although control worries were only slightly correlated with drinking loss of control, this relationship tended to be conditional in the general population. The findings suggest that concerns about personal control in general may be a useful construct to consider in conjunction with the drinking loss of control concept.