Emotional Regulation Among Alcoholoics: A Study among Occasional Drinkers and Recent Abstainers

Abstract

It is seen from the studies conducted in the past that increase in the emotional sensitivity is related to the abstinence which occurs early in Chronic Alcohol Dependency. The current study was done taking into consideration the Indian backdrop where its motive was to investigate more on this phenomenon and hence aimed at comparing men who were identified and were dependent on alcohol as well as with men who drank only n social occasions on the front of their capacity to manage their emotions. The participants of the study consisted of 60 people (N= 30 identified with dependency on alcohol, N= 30 people who only drank on the social occasions) who fell within the age range of 18 to 55 years of age. The participants for the study were taken from Pune, a prominent city in the state of Maharashtra. For assessing the ability to regulate emotions, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) was used. Along with that for screening, GHQ i.e. general health questionnaire was used. For the intensity of consumption of alcohol, AUDIT i.e. alcohol use disorders identification test was used. In order to analyze the means for the groups, an independent t test was conducted. The findings indicated that significant difference was there in the ability to regulate emotions among alcoholics who were recent abstainers and occasional drinkers.