Abstinence self-efficacy (ASE) and delay discounting predict treatment outcomes and
risk of relapse. Associations between delay discounting and ASE among individuals
in recovery from substance use have not been investigated. Data from 216 individuals
in recovery from substance abuse recruited from The International Quit & Recovery
Registry, an ongoing online data collection program used to understand addiction and
how people succeed in recovery, were included in the analysis. Discounting rates were
assessed using an adjusting-delay task and ASE was assessed using the Relapse Situation
Efficacy Questionnaire (RSEQ). Delay discounting was a significant predictor of ASE,
even after controlling for age, gender, race, ethnicity, annual income, education
level, marital status, and primary addiction. Context-specific factors of relapse
included Negative Affect, Positive Affect, Restrictive Situations (to drug use), Idle
Time, Social-Food Situations, Low Arousal, and Craving. A principal component analysis
of RSEQ factors in the current sample revealed that self-efficacy scores were primarily
unidimensional and not situation specific. The current study expands the generality
of delay discounting and indicates that discounting rates predict ASE among individuals
in recovery from substance use disorders. This finding supports the recent characterizations
of delay discounting as a candidate behavioral marker of addiction and may serve as
a basis to better identify and target sub-groups that need unique or more intensive
interventions to address higher risks of relapse and increase their likelihood of
abstinence.