Schematic functioning, emotional regulation, and regulation of the satisfaction of psychological needs in alcohol consumption: a comparative study between a clinical and a community sample.

Background: It is estimated that 76.3 million people have problems related to alcohol consumption and that it is the cause of death of 2.5 million people every year. These deaths can be due to injuries, digestive diseases, cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases or even cancer. These numbers underline the importance of information and intervention in alcohol consumption. The present investigation aims to study the regulation of the satisfaction of psychological needs, difficulties in emotional regulation and schematic functioning in the context of alcohol consumption, comparing a clinical sample with a community sample. The literature has shown a significant association of these variables with each other and a good ability to predict psychopathological symptoms. Insert text here on study objectives, hypotheses tested, research questions or description of the problem.

Methods: The study consisted of completing a protocol with five self-report instruments related to each of the variables under study: Alcohol consumption (Severity of alcohol dependency questionnaire - SADQ for the clinical sample/Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test - AUDIT for the community sample); regulation of the satisfaction of psychological needs; difficulties in emotional regulation; schematic functioning; and psychopathological symptomatology measured by the BSI. The clinical sample consisted of a total of 238 participants recruited from either short-term (4-5 weeks) or long-term (3 months to 1 year) inpatient units. The community sample consisted of a total of 302 participants recruited online on social media. The data is now being analysed and compared.

Results: The data is now being analysed. From a previously studied subsample of 94 participants of the clinical sample with alcohol dependence, it was concluded that there is a strong presence of early maladaptive schemas, difficulties in emotional regulation and in the satisfaction of psychological needs, being interrelated in the prediction of symptoms. Schematic functioning proved to be the most explanatory variable of the symptoms, both presenting significant differences between the degrees of severity of alcohol consumption measured by the SADQ. These results are potentially relevant for case conceptualization and provide clues for psychological intervention.

Conclusion: Considering our preliminary results, we believe that these variables are relevant for psychological intervention and potentially relevant for case conceptualization.