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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

The Motivation for Alcohol Reward: Predictors of Progressive-Ratio Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans
Published on: April 28, 2022
Personal and treatment-related predictors of abstinence self-efficacy
Mark Ilgen1, John McKellar, Rudolf Moos
1Center for Health Care Evaluation, Department of Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System and Stanford University School of Medicine, 795 Willow Road (MPD 152), Menlo Park, California 94025, USA. Mark.Ilgen@med.va.gov
Objective:
To understand better the relationship between substance-use disorder treatment and abstinence self-efficacy, more information is needed about what factors predict greater abstinence self-efficacy.
Method:
Participants (n = 2,350) from 88 community residential facilities were assessed at treatment entry and 1-year follow-up. Treatment providers reported on patients' engagement in specific components of treatment. After examining univariate associations with self-efficacy, a multiple regression analysis was used to test a model of patient- and treatment-related predictors of self-efficacy 1 year after treatment.
Results:
More years of education, lower baseline substance- related problems, and higher baseline confidence in abstinence were associated with higher posttreatment self-efficacy. After controlling for these patient factors, patients who were more engaged in skills-training activities and who inspired providers' confidence in their ability to remain abstinent had higher 1-year self-efficacy.
Conclusions:
The development of higher levels of posttreatment abstinence self-efficacy is driven not only by what a patient brings to treatment but by the activities a patient engages in during treatment. Because of the close relationship between self-efficacy and treatment outcomes, providers may want to target patients with low self- efficacy for interventions that focus on skills-training techniques.
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