Development of an acceptance-based coping intervention for alcohol dependence relapse prevention

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neurobiology
• Addiction Medicine

Background:

• Negative affect plays a crucial role in alcohol dependence development, maintenance, and relapse.
• Coping with negative affect is a common challenge for individuals in recovery.
• Existing relapse prevention strategies often focus on changing negative cognitions and affect.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce Acceptance-Based Coping for Relapse Prevention (ABCRP), a novel intervention.
• To assess the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of ABCRP for recently abstinent alcohol-dependent individuals.

Main Methods:

• Development of the ABCRP intervention.
• A small, uncontrolled pilot study with 23 alcohol-dependent individuals within 6 months of quitting.
• Pre- and post-intervention assessments of negative affect, emotional reactivity, stress, positive affect, well-being, mindfulness, and craving.

Main Results:

• The ABCRP intervention was found to be feasible for the target population.
• Significant improvements were observed in negative affect, emotional reactivity, perceived stress, positive affect, psychological well-being, and mindfulness (P < .01).
• A trend towards reduced craving severity was noted (P = .06).

Conclusions:

• The acceptance-based intervention appears feasible and beneficial for improving affect in individuals recovering from alcohol dependence.
• ABCRP shows promise in reducing relapse risk and warrants further investigation.
• Further research is needed to validate these preliminary findings in larger, controlled studies.