An evaluation of brief correspondence programs for problem drinkers

doi:10.1016/S0005-7894(99)80030-6

Behavior Therapy

Volume 30, Issue 4, Autumn 1999, Pages 641-656

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(99)80030-6 Get rights and content

The provision of accessible and cost-effective treatment to a large number of problem drinkers is a significant challenge to health services. Previous data suggest that a correspondence intervention may assist in these efforts. We recruited 277 people with alcohol abuse problems and randomly allocated them to immediate cognitive behavioral treatment by correspondence (ICBT), 2 months in a waiting list (WL2-CBT), self-monitoring (SM2-CBT), or extended self-monitoring (SM6-CBT). Everyone received correspondence CBT after the control period. Over 2 months later, no drop in alcohol intake occurred in the waiting list, and CBT had a greater impact than SM. No further gains from SM were seen after 2 months. Effects of CBT were well maintained and were equivalent, whether it was received immediately or after 2 to 6 months of self-monitoring. Weekly alcohol intake fell 48% from pretreatment to 18.6 alcohol units at 12 months. Our results confirmed that correspondence CBT for alcohol abuse was accessible and effective for people with low physical dependence.

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^*: This research was supported by a research into drug abuse grant from the Australian Department of Health, Housing, Local Government and Community Services. We acknowledge the research assistance provided by Geoffrey Sayer in the early stages of this project, and the comments from Ross Young. The support of the Centre for Drug and Alcohol Studies, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, is gratefully acknowledged.

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Original ResearchAn evaluation of brief correspondence programs for problem drinkers*

Behavior Therapy

Social Science and Medicine

Behavior Research and Therapy

1993 national drug household survey

Comments on the WHO report “Brief interventions for alcohol problems”: A summary and some international comments

Addiction

Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency

American Psychologist

Brief interventions for alcohol problems: A review

Addiction

Assisted natural recovery from alcohol problems: Effects of a self-help manual with and without supplementary telephone contact

British Journal of Addiction

The effectiveness of a controlled drinking self-help manual: One-year follow-up results

British Journal of Clinical Psychology

Predictive validity of the readiness to change questionnaire

Addiction

Evaluation of a self-help manual for media-recruited problem drinkers: 6-month follow-up results

British Journal of Clinical Psychology

Original Research
An evaluation of brief correspondence programs for problem drinkers*