Rumination About Drinking as a Predictor of Depression and Alcohol Craving among Inpatients in Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between feeling of shame related to drinking, rumination about drinking, depression and alcohol craving among psychiatric inpatients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). The clinical sample included 71 inpatients (60 male) average age 49.70 years (SD = 9.78) who were hospitalized for AUD treatment disorder in Psychiatric Hospital Rab. Psychological measures included State Shame Scale, Rumination about Drinking Scale, Beck Depression Inventory and Penn Alcohol Craving Scale. The results show that shame related to drinking is associated with rumination about drinking and depression. Rumination about drinking is associated with depression and alcohol craving, and depression is associated with alcohol craving. Rumination about drinking was also significant predictor of depression and alcohol craving. The results suggest that rumination about drinking is significant for understanding depression and alcohol craving among inpatients with AUD. Since both depression and alcohol craving are significant risk factors for relapse after treatment, these finding also suggest that working through rumination as a part of the treatment could improve AUD treatment outcomes.