O pensar sobre o passado e álcool: a relação entre pensamento contrafactual e o uso de álcool

Abstract

Counterfactual thinking refers to the formulation of alternatives to events that have occurred, and is associated with the expression "what if". This study aimed to investigate counterfactual thinking in alcohol-dependent people and those characterized by their acute use. The sample was composed of 104 university participants of both genders, aged over 18 years. As assessment techniques, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test/AUDIT was presented, which aims to identify different levels of alcohol consumption, and a daily story that does not directly address alcohol use, followed by questions that propitiate the elaboration of thoughts. It was also proposed a self-report about a negative situation resulting from alcohol consumption. Among the 104 participants, 10 were selected through scores indicative of possible harmful drinking and probable dependence on the AUDIT. These participants were asked open-ended questions to identify impacts of substance use through counterfactual thinking. Most participants had minimal or low alcohol consumption and 11.53% had moderate or acute use. When not stimulated to think only counterfactually but spontaneously, 63.43% presented noncounterfactual thoughts and 9.62% presented counterfactual thoughts. Among the participants who have moderate or acute alcohol use 16.67% elaborated counterfactual thoughts. Among the participants who had harmful alcohol consumption additive type counterfactual thinking was the most present. One of the conclusions is that participants who use alcohol abusively tend to elaborate more counterfactuals, and additive thinking may represent a preparatory function, so that the inclusion of actions in a past fact could collaborate to the avoidance of an aversive consequence, should the same situation occur.