While most of the epidemiological literature has focused on the association between affective disorders and addictive disorders, there is evidence that depressive symptoms not meeting criteria for a depressive disorder are also important as a cause of disability (Leibson et al., 1999; Lyness and King, 1999; Chopra et al., 2005). Moreover, there is some literature to suggest that affective disturbances may play a role in alcohol relapse and recovery particularly among older adults (Schonfeld and Dupree, 1991). Overall the interaction between depression or affective regulation and substance use is complex with some research findings suggesting a strong interaction between depression and substance use disorders and other studies showing weaker interactions. While the association between alcohol use and depression is difficult to ascertain, daily diary methods have increasingly been used as an effective methodology for better understanding causal relationships and how daily variations in mood relate to disability (Chepenik et al., 2006).
