Feasibility of a skills-based substance abuse prevention program following traumatic brain injury

To demonstrate the feasibility of a skills-based substance abuse prevention counseling program in a community setting for adults who sustained traumatic brain injury.

Convenience sample of 117 participants (mean age=35 years) with preinjury history of alcohol or other drug use. Intervention group participants (n=36) from 3 vocational rehabilitation programs; a no-intervention comparison group (n=81) from an outpatient rehabilitation service.

12 individual counseling sessions featuring skills-based intervention.

Changes in self-reported alcohol and other drug use, coping skillfulness, affect, and employment status from baseline to 9 months postintervention.

Significant differences were noted at baseline for the intervention and comparison groups on ethnicity, time postinjury, marital status, and employment (P<.05). At the 9-month follow-up, the intervention group participants achieved a statistically significant decrease in alcohol and drug use (P<.05), increase in coping skillfulness (P<.01), and increased likelihood of maintaining employment (P<.01) relative to the comparison group. Controlling for baseline-adjusted means for the intervention and comparison groups, a statistically significant group difference in adjusted change was noted; the intervention group participants reported lower negative affect at the 9-month follow-up assessment (P<.05).

A skills-based intervention provides a promising approach to promoting abstinence from all substances and increasing readiness for employment for adults with traumatic brain injuries in outpatient settings.