Grant: CIHR New Investigator

Alcoholism poses major financial, social, and health burdens on Canada, so understanding why some alcoholics recover and maintain sobriety, whereas others do not, is a critical national priority. The proposed research will test whether "self-conscious" emotions (i.e., emotions that require self-evaluations, such as shame, guilt, and pride), and the cognitive processes that elicit them, influence alcoholics' recovery and long-term health. Studies have shown that while shame promotes maladaptive social and mental-health outcomes (e.g., aggression, depression), guilt has generally beneficial effects (e.g., increased empathy, high self-esteem). Correspondingly, two distinct kinds of pride ("hubristic" and "authentic") have similarly divergent effects, with hubristic pride promoting anti-social behavior and psychopathology, and authentic pride promoting pro-social behavior and mental health. The proposed research will test whether recovering alcoholics who experience guilt and authentic pride, rather than shame and hubristic pride, in response to major life events, demonstrate greater health and recovery benefits over time. We will also test whether the distinct cognitions underlying these emotions contribute to outcomes, and, if so, whether self-conscious emotions account for the effects of cognitions on health. We will address these aims by studying emotions, cognitions, and health and recovery outcomes over time in newly sober alcoholics, and comparing these individuals with long-term sober, recovered alcoholics. Our emphasis on self-conscious emotions is highly novel; despite longstanding assumptions that shame lies at the core of addiction, previous studies have not examined whether regulating shame, and experiencing guilt instead, promotes recovery. Furthermore, no previous research has examined the role of pride in addiction. The proposed research is likely to pinpoint new treatment methods (e.g., targeting emotions) for those seeking recovery from addiction.