General and alcohol-specific social support following treatment

Both general and alcohol-specific support have been shown, albeit inconsistently, to affect drinking behavior. The discrepant findings may be clarified by examining how they work together. In exploratory analysis of clients following private outpatient alcoholism treatment, we found that the two variables add uniquely to the explanation of the variance in proportion of days abstinent (PDA). Both contribute significantly in the short term (3 months posttreatment), but only alcohol-specific support helps to explain variance over the longer term (15 months posttreatment), and alcohol-specific support explains more of the variance in PDA than general support at both time periods. More complex relationships are operating when short-term treatment effects have diminished. Alcohol-specific support mediates the relationship between general support and PDA, and both general social support and alcohol-specific support are moderators of one another in their relationships to PDA. Knowing how different types of social support affect drinking behavior at different intervals following treatment may help treatment providers to better prepare their clients for the posttreatment social environment. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.