Restraint is a construct of potential use forunderstanding addictive behaviors. In terms of alcoholand other drug use, restrained individuals arecognitively and behaviorally preoccupied withcontrolling their substance use. Previous work in thecontext of alcohol consumption suggests that whenregulation fails, alcohol and other drug users are morelikely to engage in excessive substance use. Thisproposition was evaluated in a clinical population ofalcohol and other substance users admitted to aninpatient treatment program. A confirmatory factoranalysis of alcoholics' responses to the Temptation andRestraint Inventory, a measure of drinking restraint,replicated the two second-order factors previouslyreported for social drinkers: Cognitive and EmotionalPreoccupation (CEP) and Cognitive and Behavioral Control (CBC). CEP scores were a negative predictor ofpretreatment percentage of days abstinent and a positivepredictor of percentage of drinking days engaged inheavy drinking, drinks per drinking day, and drinking consequences. CBC scores were a negativepredictor onlyof drinks per drinking day. An analysis ofdrug users' responses to a drug version of theTemptation and Restraint Inventory also replicated thepreviously found CEP and CBC factors. Scores on the CEPfactor were a positive predictor and scores on the CBCfactor a negative predictor of drug use frequency. CEPscores also were a positive predictor of drug use consequences. The data taken together representa potentially useful extension of the restraintconstruct to alcoholics and other drug users and supporta multifactorial characterization of substance use restraint as reflecting a reciprocalrelationship between restricted and excessive substanceuse.