A substantial proportion of first time DWI offenders are problem drinkers who my benefit from early clinical intervention. These individuals, however, are frequently offered only psychoeducation about drinking and driving. More intensive psychotherapeutic interventions are typically reserved for multiple DWI offenders who are more likely to be in the later stages of a progressive drinking problem when they are less likely to respond to treatment. In order to examine the potential value of early clinical intervention with first time DWI offenders, the present study will compare the efficacy of a relapse prevention/coping skills therapy with two less intensive traditional DWI interventions, psychoeducation and group interaction. In addition to evaluating the comparative efficacy of the three treatments, hypotheses will be explored about the match between treatments and patient characteristics such as degree of alcohol severity, general psychopathology and sociopathy. Finally, the design of the study addresses many of the methodological failings of the past treatment outcome research conducted with DWI offenders: 1) Subjects will be randomly assigned to treatments, 2) Multidimensional assessments of functioning will be collected, 3) Treatment specific outcome measures will be used, and 4) Treatments will be clearly defined and manual guided.
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