A randomized pilot trial of brief family-involved treatment for alcohol use disorder: Treatment engagement and outcomes.

Objective: Involving family members in a patient's treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) leads to more positive outcomes, but evidence-based family-involved treatments have not been adopted widely in AUD treatment programs. Study aims the following: (a) modify an empirically supported 12-session AUD treatment, alcohol behavioral couple therapy (ABCT) to make it shorter and appropriate for any concerned family member and (b) conduct a small clinical trial to obtain feasibility data and effect size estimates of treatment efficacy.

Method: ABCT content was adapted to three-sessions following input from clinicians, patients, and family members.

Association between empathy and drinking among a community sample of heavy drinkers: Sex differences and neural correlates.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a major health problem, yet most individuals with AUD do not perceive a need for formal treatment and do not receive treatment. The lack of treatment seeking among individuals with AUD may suggest a lack of self-awareness and insight into the seriousness of AUD related problems, as well as lack of empathy for the impact of one's drinking on others. Recent work has suggested that empathy may be impaired among individuals seeking treatment for AUD.

Prenatal maternal posttraumatic stress disorder as a risk factor for adverse birth weight and gestational age outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Although not routinely assessed, prenatal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with poor maternal mental health and mother-infant bonding. Prenatal PTSD may also be associated with birth weight and gestational age outcomes, but this remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the association of prenatal PTSD with risk of low birth weight (LBW) or preterm birth (PTB) (dichotomous medically-defined cut-offs) or with birth weight (BW) or gestational age (GA) (continuous variables).

Education and Training in Substance Use Disorders and Addictions: The University of New Mexico Integrated Training Model.

This paper describes SUD/addictions training at the University of New Mexico. Coordinated and integrated academic, research, and clinical training resources are described, with an emphasis on the integration of resources across multiple training domains. Academic training resources in the Psychology Department include core clinical courses, basic science courses, and opportunities for students to develop expertise in health or quantitative psychology.

The Indirect Relationship Between Interpersonal Trauma History and Alcohol Use via Negative Cognitions in a Multisite Alcohol Treatment Sample.

Although interpersonal trauma history (ITH) is frequently associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD), little is known about specific psychological constructs that may indirectly link these phenomena. This study hypothesized that one such construct may be negative cognitive schemas that often emerge in the aftermath of trauma. Secondary latent variable modeling was conducted using the Project MATCH sample of adults receiving treatment for AUD ( = 1726; 24.

Inside Alcohol Behavioral Couple Therapy (ABCT): In-session speech trajectories and drinking outcomes.

The alcohol treatment literature has established in-session client speech as a mechanism of change that therapist behavior can influence and that can predict drinking outcomes. This study aimed to explore temporal patterns of in-session speech in Alcohol Behavioral Couple Therapy (ABCT), including the unique interplay between client and partner speech and the role of speech trajectories in predicting client drinking outcomes. Participants were 165 heterosexual couples receiving ABCT in one of four clinical trials.

Treatment Interventions for Women With Alcohol Use Disorder.

Women with alcohol use disorder (AUD) experience more barriers to AUD treatment and are less likely to access treatment than men with AUD. A literature review identified several barriers to women seeking help: low perception of a need for treatment; guilt and shame; co-occurring disorders; employment, economic, and health insurance disparities; childcare responsibilities; and fear of child protective services. Women entering treatment present with more severe AUD and more complex psychological, social, and service needs than men.

A mother's bond: An ecological momentary assessment study of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and substance craving during pregnancy.

Pregnant women with substance use disorder (SUD) comprise an underserved population with complex treatment needs, including complications from trauma histories and comorbid psychological disorders. Using ecological momentary assessment, we examined momentary fluctuations in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, prenatal bonding, and substance craving, among pregnant women in SUD treatment who had a history of trauma. We hypothesized that (a) PTSD symptoms and prenatal bonding would each be associated with substance craving and (b) PTSD symptoms would be negatively associated with prenatal bonding, and this would at least partially account for the association between PTSD symptoms and substance craving (i.

Relationship between empathic processing and drinking behavior in project MATCH.

Introduction: Family relationships, social connectedness and a greater network of supportive others each predict better drinking outcomes among individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD). The association between social factors and drinking may be related to the ability of individuals to take the perspectives of others' mental and emotional states, defined as empathic processing (EP). As such, it may be the case that EP is associated with social support (SS) and drinking behavior among individuals with AUD, yet few prior studies have attempted to define EP in an AUD sample.

Alcohol-Focused Behavioral Couple Therapy.

Alcohol Behavioral Couple Therapy (ABCT) has emerged over the last 30 years as a highly efficacious treatment for those with alcohol use disorders. This review highlights the historical and conceptual underpinnings of ABCT, as well as the specific treatment elements and structure. Proposed active ingredients, moderators, and mediators of treatment outcome are discussed.

A preliminary randomized controlled trial of a behavioral exercise intervention for smoking cessation.

Introduction: Previous exercise intervention studies for smoking cessation have been challenged by a number of methodological limitations that confound the potential efficacy of aerobic exercise for smoking cessation.

Methods: The preliminary efficacy of a behavioral exercise intervention that incorporated features designed to address prior limitations was tested in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Sixty-one smokers (65.

Utilization of evidence-based smoking cessation treatments by psychiatric inpatient smokers with depression.

Objectives: Although smoking is a major health issue among depressed psychiatric inpatients and interest in quitting is high, successful quit rates remain low among this population. We sought to understand preferences that depressed inpatient smokers may have for cessation treatments.

Methods: Eighty smokers (60% women, mean age 38.

Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Physical Activity and Smoking Among Psychiatrically Hospitalized Adolescents.

Physical activity has been identified as a protective factor with regard to tobacco use, such that physically active adolescents are less likely to initiate smoking, and smokers are less physically active than non-smokers. These findings, along with the well-documented benefits of exercise on mood and well-being in adults, have stimulated interest in exercise-based smoking cessation interventions. However, little research has explored the relationship between physical activity and smoking characteristics within adolescent smokers.