Network Support for Treatment of Alcohol Dependence

UConn Health210 enrolled

Overview

Relapse is the most serious problem in alcoholism treatment. The overall aim of the present study was to determine if a treatment directed at changing the patient's social network, from one that reinforces drinking behavior to one that reinforces sobriety, can create the conditions necessary for long-term treatment success. In addition, we intended to determine if explicit reinforcement for this change of social network (Contingency Management or ContM) would be more effective than the same network support intervention without contingent reinforcement for change.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

210

Conditions

Alcohol Dependence

Interventions

Network SupportBEHAVIORAL

12 Weekly sessions intended to help patients change their social networks to be more supportive of abstinence

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * meet DSM-IV criteria for Alcohol Dependence * at least 18 years old * Willing to accept random assignment to treatment conditions Exclusion Criteria: * acute medical or psychiatric problems that require inpatient treatment * reading ability below the fifth grade level * lack of reliable transportation to the treatment site * excessive commuting distance to site * current dependence on drugs (except marijuana)

Locations (1)

University of Connecticut health Center

Farmington, Connecticut, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Proportion Days Abstinent

Time frame: Every 3 months out to 2 years

Secondary Outcomes

Network Support for Abstinence

Time frame: every 6 months out to 2 years

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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