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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Patrick R. Clifford, PhD, Department of Health Studies, New York University, 35 W. 4th Street, Suite 1200, New York, NY 10012-1172, (212) 998-5785, patrick.clifford@nyu.edu and Stephen A. Maisto, PhD, Psychology, Syracuse University, 415 Huntington Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244-2340.
The prediction and explanation of longer-term functioning following the treatment of alcohol use disorders (AUD) have clinical, research, and theoretical importance. The vast majority of alcohol treatment outcome studies have addressed pre- and early treatment predictors of longer-term functioning. However, there has been little research on the relationship of behaviors during or initially following an episode of alcohol treatment and later functioning. Available research shows an association between early post-treatment initiation drinking behavior, particularly abstinence, and later functioning, but the mechanisms underlying this relationship are not known. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend research that shows that abstinence from alcohol during the first year following AUD intervention predicts better longer-term functioning. Subjects were 187 men and women who had participated in a clinical trial of the differential effectiveness of two behavioral treatments for alcohol problems. All subjects who participated in this phase of the study were classified as either abstinent from alcohol or not, based on their drinking behavior during the first 12 months following treatment initiation. Subjects’ alcohol use and other behaviors were evaluated for months 13-24. The primary dependent variables of interest were alcohol use, self-efficacy, and psychological functioning. A comparison of the two abstinence groups showed that, compared to drinkers, abstainers had superior alcohol use, self-efficacy, and psychological outcomes. The results replicated and extended the findings of previous research. Future research should focus on possible mediators of the abstinence correlations with later behavior that are of theoretical and practical importance.
Learning Objectives: After attending this session, participants will be able to explain the association between post-AUD intervention abstinence and longer-term
Keywords: Alcohol, Treatment Outcomes
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.