Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 24, 2025

Chronic Intermittent Ethanol Vapor Exposure Paired with Two-Bottle Choice to Model Alcohol Use Disorder
Published on: June 23, 2023
Impulsivity and alexithymia predict early versus subsequent relapse in patients with alcohol use disorder: A 1-year
Maria Pepe1, Marco Di Nicola1,2, Isabella Panaccione3
1Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Introduction:
Longitudinal psychopathological predictors of relapse in alcohol use disorder are unclear.
Methods:
Relapses, sociodemographic and psychopathological risk factors were assessed in 171 alcohol use disorder outpatients within a 1-year follow up. Impulsivity and alexithymia were evaluated using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, respectively.
Results:
At endpoint, 39% of patients maintained abstinence, 30.9% relapsed at ≤1 month from detoxification (early), 30.1% at >1 month (subsequent). Baseline Barratt Impulsiveness Scale score was predictive of early versus subsequent relapse (odds ratio 1.12, p = 0.005) and versus abstinence (odds ratio 1.17, p < 0.001). Toronto Alexithymia Scale score was a risk factor for subsequent versus early relapse (odds ratio 1.13, p = 0.003) and versus abstinence (odds ratio 1.21, p < 0.001).
Discussion And Conclusions:
Impulsivity predicted relapse within the first 4-weeks; alexithymia showed delayed effects. Time-varying effects of specific relapse factors emphasise the need for preliminary careful assessment and personalised interventions to promote long-term abstinence.
More Related Videos
05:40The Motivation for Alcohol Reward: Predictors of Progressive-Ratio Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans
Published on: April 28, 2022
08:05A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers
Published on: January 5, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
Drug Dependence
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
CNS Depressants: Alcohol and Nicotine
Classification of Illness
An illness is a response to a disease in which the person's level of functioning is changed compared with a previous level. The general classification of illness includes acute and chronic.
Acute illness is severe...