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Mindfulness practice moderates the relationship between craving and substance use in a clinical sample
Matthew C Enkema1, Sarah Bowen2
1Center for the Study of Health and Risk Behaviors, Department of Psychiatry, University of Washington, Box 354944, 1100 NE 45th St., Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98105, United States.
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
|July 23, 2017
Summary
Formal mindfulness practice, like daily meditation, can help prevent relapse in substance use disorder treatment. Increased practice strengthens resilience by reducing the link between craving and substance use.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
- Addiction Medicine
- Mindfulness Research
Background:
- Relapse is common in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment.
- Craving is a key predictor of relapse.
- Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) combines mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral therapy for SUD aftercare.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if between-session mindfulness practice (formal and informal) mediates the relationship between craving and substance use.
- To examine the role of mindfulness practice as a mechanism of action in MBRP.
Main Methods:
- Secondary analysis of 57 adults from a randomized clinical trial of MBRP.
- Participants completed inpatient or intensive outpatient SUD treatment.
- Assessed formal (days/week, minutes/day) and informal mindfulness practice post-intervention.
Main Results:
- Formal mindfulness practice (days/week and minutes/day) significantly moderated the relationship between post-intervention craving and 6-month substance use days.
- Informal mindfulness practice did not significantly moderate this relationship.
- MBRP participants showed enhanced remission resilience compared to control groups in the parent study.
Conclusions:
- Higher levels of formal mindfulness practice may buffer the effect of craving on substance use.
- Formal mindfulness practice is a potential mechanism for MBRP's effectiveness in enhancing remission resilience.
- Encouraging formal mindfulness practice could be a key strategy in SUD relapse prevention.
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