Over the past 10 years there has been a movement in alcoholism treatment away from serving individuals with severe or chronic alcohol problems to serving those defined as early-stage problem drinkers. Despite important differences between these early stage problem drinkers and those characterized as having severe problems, both populations, with few exceptions, have received what has been termed the """"""""standard package of care."""""""" Recent findings have demonstrated that the early-stage problem drinkers might fare better, or, at the very least perform equally well, with a less costly, very brief, intervention. However, these studies were conducted in hospital-based abstinence oriented programs. As a result, the findings emanating from the research may be restricted to a certain subgroup of problem drinkers, namely, individuals who are more inclined to accept the alcoholic label or less sensitive about entering specialized programs. There is a need to determine, therefore, whether these brief modalities can be just as effective with a broader range of individuals having a low-moderate degree of alcohol problems. Finding generated from the research would have important implications for the increasing numbers of individuals seen in managed health care settings. Another question arising from previous research pertains to the involvement of the spouse in the brief treatment approach. Although there is a great deal of speculation about the importance of involving the spouse in brief treatment, there are virtually no studies that systematically examine the contribution of the spouse with respect to enhancing the effectiveness of brief treatment. The proposed study has been designed to compare the effectiveness of three types of intervehntion; a conventional treatment, a brief intervention, and a spouse-involved brief intervention. It is hypothesized that the two brief interventions-- with or without spouse involvement--will be more effective that the conventional treatment. Further, it is expected that the spouse-involved brief modality will be more effective than the brief intervention with no spousal participation. A comprehensive assessment scheme will be utilized. The follow-up will cover an 18-month period following the initial treatment appointment.
| Flannery, Barbara A; Allen, John P; Pettinati, Helen M et al. (2002) Using acquired knowledge and new technologies in alcoholism treatment trials. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 26:423-9 |
