Craving, distress tolerance, emotion dysregulation, and experiential avoidance among patients in early recovery from opioid use disorder in residential programs

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective Craving has been identified as a major factor in substance use relapse and studied in conjunction with distress tolerance. This research aimed to investigate the mediating roles of experiential avoidance and difficulties in emotion regulation in individuals recovering from opioid use disorder in the early stages. Methods The research involved 241 adult males in residential treatment centers. To be eligible for inclusion, participants must have a self-reported abstinence period of at least three months at the time of data collection. The structural model showed strong fit indices (GFI = 0.913, RMSEA = 0.075, SRMR = 0.047), with low distress tolerance determining high craving. Furthermore, only experiential avoidance and not emotion dysregulation mediated this path significantly. Conclusions The significant mediating effect of experiential avoidance rather than emotion dysregulation could be interpreted as the study participants would not see their distress as just unpleasant feelings. This implies that craving may be viewed as a private experience comprised of thoughts, feelings, memories, emotions, and bodily sensations. Thus, focusing on experiential avoidance might be more beneficial for individuals in the early stages of recovery from opioid use disorder in a residential program.