A Randomized Controlled Trial of Attentional Control Training for Treating Alcohol Use Disorder.

Area of Science:

• Clinical Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Digital Health Interventions

Background:

• Individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) exhibit attentional biases toward alcohol cues.
• Alcohol attentional control training program (AACTP) shows promise in reducing alcohol consumption in non-clinical samples.
• Effectiveness of AACTP in clinical AUD populations remains under-investigated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if a gamified AACTP smartphone application can enhance existing evidence-based treatments for AUD.
• To assess the impact of AACTP on attentional bias, craving, and drinking reduction in a clinical AUD sample.

Main Methods:

• Randomized controlled trial involving 317 patients with AUD from outpatient clinics.
• Three arms: gamified AACTP + treatment as usual (TAU), sham-control app + TAU, and TAU alone.
• Outcomes assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and 3- and 6-month follow-ups using repeated measures MANOVA.

Main Results:

• Hypothesis: Patients receiving gamified AACTP alongside TAU will demonstrate superior treatment outcomes compared to control groups.
• Analysis will focus on changes in alcohol attentional bias, craving, and alcohol consumption.
• Anticipated significant improvements in the AACTP intervention group.

Conclusions:

• This study is expected to provide novel evidence on the efficacy of gamified AACTP for clinical AUD treatment.
• Findings may support the integration of AACTP into standard clinical practice for AUD.
• The research aims to introduce a cost-effective digital therapeutic to improve AUD treatment outcomes.