Daily drinking and social network interactions in network support treatment

Area of Science:

• Addiction research
• Social psychology
• Behavioral health

Background:

• Social networks significantly influence drinking behaviors.
• Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) treatment needs to address social determinants.
• Network Support (NS) treatment aims to modify social environments to support abstinence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the daily behavioral changes induced by Network Support (NS) treatment.
• To compare the effects of NS treatment versus packaged cognitive-behavioral treatment (PCBT) on social contacts and drinking.
• To determine if NS treatment leads to reduced contact with drinking individuals and increased contact with non-drinking individuals.

Main Methods:

• 193 patients with AUD participated in the second NS trial.
• Daily self-reports on drinking, urges, self-efficacy, and social contacts were collected via interactive voice response.
• Multilevel modeling and Time-Varying Effect Model (TVEM) analyses were used to examine daily network variables and their impact on drinking behavior over time.

Main Results:

• NS patients reported significantly less daily drinking associated with contacts with drinkers compared to PCBT patients.
• Both NS and PCBT groups showed increased self-efficacy and decreased drinking urges with contact with non-drinkers.
• NS treatment effectively altered social networks to be more supportive of abstinence.

Conclusions:

• Network Support (NS) treatment is effective in modifying social networks and responses to social influences.
• These network changes contribute to reduced day-to-day drinking levels in individuals with AUD.
• Targeting social networks offers a viable strategy for managing alcohol use disorder.