Long‐Term Posttreatment Functioning Among Those Treated for Alcohol Use Disorders

Abstract

This article summarizes the proceedings of a symposium that was organized and chaired by Patrick R. Clifford and presented at the 2005 Research Society on Alcoholism meeting in Santa Barbara, California. The aims of the presentation were to focus on the prediction and explanation of longer-term functioning following alcohol use disorders (AUD) treatment. Along these lines, Stephen A. Maisto, PhD, presented data (i.e., Project MATCH outpatient sample) on the relationship between drinking behavior in the first year following AUD outpatient treatment initiation and functioning at 3-year follow-up. Robert L. Stout, PhD, using data from the Extended Case Monitoring Study, analyzed long-term drinking patterns using shorter-term information. James R. McKay, PhD, examined the relationship between treatment services received and problem severities across a 2-year follow-up period. J. Scott Tonigan, PhD, served as the panel discussant.

Percentage of Subjects With No Heavy Drinking Days: Evaluation as an Efficacy Endpoint for AlcoholClinical Trials

“…These subjects had more percent days abstinent; fewer drinks per day, drinks per drinking day, and drinks per drinking week; and a lower DrInC score; and were more likely to have no HDDs and to be abstinent. It has been shown in previous studies that individuals who had good outcomes during treatment have better long‐term outcomes (Clifford et al., 2006). As expected, there was some return to drinking and reported alcohol‐related consequences.…”

Alcohol relapse repetition, gender, and predictive validity

“…He determined that abstinent periods of 7, 14, and 28 days were associated with improved outcomes, and he recommended using 14 days of abstinence as an indicator that one drinking episode has ended and another one has begun. Along the lines of studying the relationship between one relapse and another, investigators are examining and finding relationships between short-term and long-term drinking outcomes (Clifford, Maisto, Stout, McKay, & Tonigan, 2006). In particular, compared to pretreatment drinking variables, short-term outcomes were more strongly related to long-term outcomes.…”

Ascertaining the relationships between the trajectories of specific categories of alcohol-related negative consequences and subsequent drinking behavior.

“…Given the absence of prior research examining the trajectories of specific categories of alcohol-related negative consequences during the first year post-treatment initiation period, research hypotheses were based on either closely related prior empirical research (e.g., Blume et al, 2006) or investigator speculation regarding the relationships between alcohol-related problems and treatment outcomes (e.g., Clifford et al, 2006 4. Do the trajectories of specific categories of alcohol-related negative consequences predict subsequent drinking behavior at 15 months post-treatment initiation?…”

“…Irrespective of intervention approach (e.g., personal resources, self-help groups, professional psychological, and/or medical interventions), attempted modifications to drinking behavior often are short-lived, and relapse is common. Indeed, the first year following treatment initiation is critical and has been identified clinically as a high risk period for relapse (Clifford, Maisto, Stout, McKay, & Tonigan, 2006; Maisto, McKay, & O’Farrell, 1998; McKay & Weiss, 2001). Drinking behavior during this critical period has been shown to be predictive of longer-term functioning (e.g., alcohol use, alcohol-related negative consequences, psychosocial functioning; Maisto, Clifford, Stout, & Davis, 2006, 2007; Udo, Clifford, Maisto, & Davis, 2009).…”