Methadone-maintained males' reactions to success and failure: Causal attributions, self-efficacy, and attitudes toward heroin

Abstract

This exploratory study investigated several components of Marlatt's [1, 2] cognitive-behavioral model of relapse to substance abuse. The components were outcome expectancies for the abused substance, self-efficacy, and causal responsibility for success and failure. Also, Hispanic and white ethnic differences in causal attributions were analyzed. Some support was found for Marlatt's model. Both groups exhibited more favorable attitudes toward heroin following success and failure. However, the success group evaluated heroin most favorably. This finding may have been due to both groups responding more to task-performance anxiety than to success and failure. Hispanic subjects attributed success most to the internal cause of high effort and white subjects exhibited lowered self-efficacy by attributing failure most to low ability. Nonsupport for Marlatt's model was found. Success was found not to enhance self-efficacy. White subjects did not take personal responsibility for success. They attributed success most to easy task. A self-protective bias was evident in the Hispanic subjects attributing failure most to hard task. The meaning and implications of these findings, as well as suggestions for further research, are discussed.