Cognitive, affective, and marital functioning of recovering male polysubstance abusers.

Abstract

Research examining aspects of alcoholism and drug abuse has developed our knowledge of the components of addiction, especially alcoholism, within the fields of neuropsychology, affective disorders research, and marital and family research. The present study examined the relationships between these domains for 31 married couples in which the husband was a recovering polysubstance abuser. The cognitive functioning of the husband, rather than his affective functioning, was significantly related to videotaped observations of the couple's interaction. Post hoc analyses suggest a general pattern of more frequent negative communication behaviors and fewer positive behaviors associated with husbands' lower scores on the neuropsychological measures. In addition, increased levels of reported violence during conflicts experienced by the couple over the previous year were significantly related to husbands' impoverished neuropsychological test performance. Major limitations and the theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Neurocognitive impairment associated with alcohol use disorders: Implications for treatment.

“…This model, however, may be useful in characterizing certain psychosocial outcomes. For example, although they did not directly test for mediation, Schafer, Birchler, and Fals-Stewart (1994) demonstrated that low verbal and executive functioning of polysubstance abusers negatively affected interpersonal relations when anxiety and depression were controlled; yet when neurocognitive functioning was controlled, affective state was not predictive. That is, wives of polysubstance abusing husbands evidenced more frequent negative behaviors (e.g., criticizing, ignoring, interrupting) and less frequent positive behaviors (e.g., agreement, smiling) as their husbands' cognitive functioning decreased.…”

“…The TBI and alcohol literatures converge in suggesting that one of the most likely ways in which neuropsychological impairment affects alcohol treatment outcome is by modifying the strength of other risk factor predictors (Glass, 1991; Goldman, 1990; Morgenstern & Bates, 1999; Roehrich & Goldman, 1993; Schafer et al, 1994; Ylvisaker & Feeney, 1998). Heuristic moderation Model D is thus a strong alternative to the direct effect hypothesis; it suggests that impairment can influence psychosocial adaptation and the likelihood of relapse by affecting the strength with which intrapersonal competency in other life areas and environmental factors influence treatment outcomes.…”