The Effect of Behavior Couples Therapy on Alcohol and Drug Use Disorder: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Behavior couples therapy (BCT) is widely considered to be effective in the treatment of substance use disorders. However, the effect size of BCT in different outcome measures, and at different time points requires further study to prove it.

Systematic searches were performed in various databases. Ultimately, we identified 12 studies, involving 19 randomized controlled trials. We used Hedges' g as the effect size, and all pooled analyses were performed using random-effects models.

After treatment, BCT was superior to control conditions (either an active or inactive control group) in frequency of substance use (g = 0.17), substance use consequences (g = -0.28) and relationship satisfaction (g = 0.45). After a 12-month follow-up, BCT remained superior to control conditions in frequency of substance use (g = 0.32), substance use consequences (g = -0.34) and relationship satisfaction (g = 0.31). In addition, BCT was more effective in reducing the frequency of substance use than individual-based treatment (IBT) (g = 0.23). There was no significant relationship between the effect size of BCT and publication year (t = 0.92, P = 0.372), percentage of females (t = -0.02, P = 0.987) or the number of treatment sessions (t = -0.52, P = 0.609).

BCT was superior to the control conditions in all three outcome measures after treatment and at follow-up, and showed a relatively large effect size for relationship satisfaction. Moreover, BCT was superior to IBT in reducing the frequency of substance use.