Desire thinking as a predictor of craving and binge drinking: a longitudinal study

Desire thinking is a conscious and voluntary cognitive process orienting to prefigure images, information and memories about positive target-related experience. Desire thinking has been found to be associated with both craving and alcohol use in clinical and non-clinical populations, however its role in predicting craving and problematic drinking patterns has never been investigated using a longitudinal design. The central aimof the present study was to explore the role of desire thinking at Time 2 (3 months post-baseline) in predicting craving and binge drinking and Time 3 (6 months post-baseline), controlling for levels of both these constructs and Time 1 (baseline). One hundred and thirty three non-hazardous drinkers were assessed on craving and binge drinking at Times 1 and 3, and on desire thinking at Time2. Findings showed that desire thinking at Time2 predicted craving and binge drinking at Time 3, controlling for craving and binge drinking at Time 1. Furthermore, the imaginal prefiguration component of desire thinking at Time 2 was found to mediate the relationship between craving at Times 1 and 3; conversely the verbal perseveration component of desire thinking at Time 2was found to mediate the relationship between binge drinking at Times 1 and 3. The implications of these findings are discussed.