Alcohol-related changes in behaviors and characteristics from the baseline to the randomization session for treatment and non-treatment seeking participants with alcohol use disorder. (2nd November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Goodyear, Kimberly; Vasaturo-Kolodner, Talia R.; Kenna, George A.; Swift, Robert M.; Leggio, Lorenzo; Haass-Koffler, Carolina L.
• Is Part Of: American journal of drug and alcohol abuse. Volume 47:Number 6(2021)
• Page Start: 760
• Page End: 768
• Publication Date: 2021-11-02
• Subjects: Treatment seekers -- non-treatment seekers -- alcohol use disorder -- baseline -- randomization -- session -- motivation; Drug abuse -- Treatment -- Periodicals; Alcoholism -- Treatment -- Periodicals; Substance-abuse -- Treatment -- Periodicals; Alcoholism -- Periodicals; Substance-Related Disorders -- Periodicals; 616.86
• DOI: 10.1080/00952990.2021.1961799
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0095-2990

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Background: Participants who are enrolled in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) may be more motivated to change their behaviors after being enrolled in a study and that motivation may vary by treatment status. Objectives: The objectives of this secondary analysis were to investigate if changes in alcohol-related behaviors/characteristics from the baseline to the randomization session differed overall and to assess those differences between non-treatment and treatment seeking individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Methods: Our sample included participants from eight RCTs conducted at Brown University ( N = 281, 34% female). To assess differences across alcohol-related behaviors/characteristics, we investigated changes in craving (obsessive compulsive drinking scale) and alcohol drinking (percent abstinent days, drinks per week (DPW) and percent heavy drinking days (HDD)) overall and between treatment status. Results: Results showed that there were baseline differences, such as increased AUD severity and craving for alcohol in treatment seeking participants ( p 's < .05) in the overall sample. Next, we showed that craving, DPW and HDD decreased and percent abstinent days increased from baseline to randomization ( p 's < .05). When controlling for treatment status and sociodemographic characteristics, treatment seeking, compared to non-treatment seeking participants, had a greater reduction in alcohol craving ( p < .001) and a greater increase in percentage of drinking days ( p < .01). Conclusions: These findings demonstrated that alcohol-related behaviors and characteristics changed after enrollment. Severity, craving and drinking behaviors also differed between treatment-seeking status, which can potentially impact medication development stages for AUD such as clinical trial eligibility, enrollment and study outcomes.