Alcohol expectancies in persons with severe mental illness and posttraumatic stress disorder

Abstract

Background: Persons with a severe mental illness (SMI) report high rates of trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and alcohol use disorder. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to compare alcohol use expectancies between persons with an SMI and PTSD with an alcohol use disorder, to similar individuals with no alcohol use disorder. Methods: Nine persons with SMI, PTSD, and alcohol use disorder were compared to 12 persons with SMI, PTSD, and no alcohol use disorder on their alcohol use expectancies using the Alcohol Effect Expectancy Questionnaire (AEEQ). Results: The multivariate F-test for a one-way multivariate analysis of variance was statistically significant, indicating differences between the two groups on the AEEQ subscales. Univariate tests revealed that compared to persons with no alcohol use disorder, those with alcohol use disorder had significantly higher scores on all the AEEQ subscales except the relaxation and tension reduction subscale. Conclusions: The results suggest that alcohol use disorder in individuals with SMI and PTSD may be related to efforts to cope with specific PTSD symptom clusters, such as feelings of numbness and avoidance. The findings have implications for treating alcohol use disorder and PTSD in the SMI population, by targeting coping skills such as emotional regulation as an alternative to alcohol use.

Keywords

• smi
• ptsd
• alcohol
• expectancies