Drinking-related locus of control as a predictor of drinking after treatment

This study evaluated the predictive utility of the drinking-related control orientation for successful treatment outcome among Finnish inpatient alcoholics (N = 106, 16% women). Using the Drinking-Related Locus of Control (DRIE) scale by Keyson and Janda (unpublished; see Lettieri, Nelson, & Sayers, 1985), it aimed to discover to what extent the DRIE scores measured at the end of treatment predict (a) the timing and severity of the first drinking occasion after treatment, and (b) the 6 and 12 months' total treatment outcome of the sample. The DRIE scores correlated with the time to the first drinking occasion (r = -.27, p < .02). Internal subjects started to drink later (p < .004), drank less on the first occasion (p < .001), and continued for fewer days (p < .005) than external subjects. Moreover, internal orientation was more common among abstinent and external orientation among unimproved subjects during the first 6 (p < .02) and 12 months (p < .05) after treatment. The results thus support the beneficial role of internal control attributions.