Molly Magill

How do people recover from alcohol dependence? A systematic review of the research on mechanisms of behavior change in Alcoholics Anonymous

Rigorous reviews of the science on the effectiveness of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) indicate that AA and related 12-step treatment are at least as helpful as other intervention approaches. Exactly how AA achieves these beneficial outcomes is less well understood, yet, greater elucidation of AAs mechanisms could inform our understanding of addiction recovery and the timing and content of alcohol-related interventions. Empirical studies examining AAs mechanisms were located from searches in Pubmed, Medline, PsycINFO, Social Service Abstracts and from published reference lists. Thirteen studies completed full mediational tests. A further six were included that had completed partial tests. Mechanisms examined fell into three domains: (1) Common processes; (2) AA-specific practices; and (3) Social and spiritual processes. Results suggest AA helps individuals recover through common process mechanisms associated with enhancing self-efficacy, coping skills, and motivation, and by facilitating adaptive social network changes. Little research or support was found for AAs specific practices or spiritual mechanisms. Conclusions are limited by between-study differences in sampling, measurement, and assessment time-points, and by insufficient theoretical elaboration of recovery-related change. Similar to the common finding that theoretically-distinct professional interventions do not result in differential patient outcomes, AAs effectiveness may not be due to its specific content or process. Rather, its chief strength may lie in its ability to provide free, long-term, easy access and exposure to recovery-related common therapeutic elements, the dose of which, can be adaptively self-regulated according to perceived need.

The technical hypothesis of motivational interviewing: a meta-analysis of MI's key causal model.

OBJECTIVE The technical hypothesis of motivational interviewing (MI) posits that therapist-implemented MI skills are related to client speech regarding behavior change and that client speech predicts client outcome. The current meta-analysis is the first aggregate test of this proposed causal model. METHOD A systematic literature review, using stringent inclusion criteria, identified 16 reports describing 12 primary studies. We used review methods to calculate the inverse-variance-weighted pooled correlation coefficient for the therapist-to-client and the client-to-outcome paths across multiple targeted behaviors (i.e., alcohol or illicit drug use, other addictive behaviors). RESULTS Therapist MI-consistent skills were correlated with more client language in favor of behavior change (i.e., change talk; r = .26, p < .0001), but not less client language against behavior change (i.e., sustain talk; r = .10, p = .09). MI-inconsistent skills were associated with less change talk (r = -.17, p = .001) as well as more sustain talk (r = .07, p = .009). Among these studies, client change talk was not associated with follow-up outcome (r = .06, p = .41), but sustain talk was associated with worse outcome (r = -.24, p = .001). In addition, studies examining composite client language (e.g., an average of negative and positive statements) showed an overall positive relationship with client behavior change (r = .12, p = .006; k = 6). CONCLUSIONS This meta-analysis provides an initial test and partial support for a key causal model of MI efficacy. Recommendations for MI practitioners, clinical supervisors, and process researchers are provided.

The role of Alcoholics Anonymous in mobilizing adaptive social network changes: A prospective lagged mediational analysis

OBJECTIVE Many individuals entering treatment are involved in social networks and activities that heighten relapse risk. Consequently, treatment programs facilitate engagement in social recovery resources, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), to provide a low risk network. While it is assumed that AA works partially through this social mechanism, research has been limited in rigor and scope. This study used lagged mediational methods to examine changes in pro-abstinent and pro-drinking network ties and activities. METHOD Adults (N=1726) participating in a randomized controlled trial of alcohol use disorder treatment were assessed at intake, and 3, 9, and 15 months. Generalized linear modeling (Generalized linear modeling) tested whether changes in pro-abstinent and pro-drinking network ties and drinking and abstinent activities helped to explain AAs effects. RESULTS Greater AA attendance facilitated substantial decreases in pro-drinking social ties and significant, but less substantial increases in pro-abstinent ties. Also, AA attendance reduced engagement in drinking-related activities and increased engagement in abstinent activities. Lagged mediational analyses revealed that it was through reductions in pro-drinking network ties and, to a lesser degree, increases in pro-abstinent ties that AA exerted its salutary effect on abstinence, and to a lesser extent, on drinking intensity. CONCLUSIONS AA appears to facilitate recovery by mobilizing adaptive changes in the social networks of individuals exhibiting a broad range of impairment. Specifically by reducing involvement with pro-drinking ties and increasing involvement with pro-abstinent ties. These changes may aid recovery by decreasing exposure to alcohol-related cues thereby reducing craving, while simultaneously increasing rewarding social relationships.

Moderators and mediators of two brief interventions for alcohol in the emergency department.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate moderators and mediators of brief alcohol interventions conducted in the emergency department. METHODS Patients (18-24 years; n = 172) in an emergency department received a motivational interview with personalized feedback (MI) or feedback only (FO), with 1- and 3-month booster sessions and 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Gender, alcohol status/severity group [ALC+ only, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT+) only, ALC+/AUDIT+], attribution of alcohol in the medical event, aversiveness of the event, perceived seriousness of the event and baseline readiness to change alcohol use were evaluated as moderators of intervention efficacy. Readiness to change also was evaluated as a mediator of intervention efficacy, as were perceived risks/benefits of alcohol use, self-efficacy and alcohol treatment seeking. RESULTS Alcohol status, attribution and readiness moderated intervention effects such that patients who had not been drinking prior to their medical event, those who had low or medium attribution for alcohol in the event and those who had low or medium readiness to change showed lower alcohol use 12 months after receiving MI compared to FO. In the AUDIT+ only group those who received MI showed lower rates of alcohol-related injury at follow-up than those who received FO. Patients who had been drinking prior to their precipitating event did not show different outcomes in the two interventions, regardless of AUDIT status. Gender did not moderate intervention efficacy and no significant mediation was found. CONCLUSIONS Findings may help practitioners target patients for whom brief interventions will be most effective. More research is needed to understand how brief interventions transmit their effects.

Mechanisms of behavior change in alcoholics anonymous: does Alcoholics Anonymous lead to better alcohol use outcomes by reducing depression symptoms?

RATIONALE Indices of negative affect, such as depression, have been implicated in stress-induced pathways to alcohol relapse. Empirically supported continuing care resources, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), emphasize reducing negative affect to reduce relapse risk, but little research has been conducted to examine putative affective mechanisms of AAs effects. METHODS Using lagged, controlled, hierarchical linear modeling and mediational analyses this study investigated whether AA participation mobilized changes in depression symptoms and whether such changes explained subsequent reductions in alcohol use. Alcohol-dependent adults (n = 1706), receiving treatment as part of a clinical trial, were assessed at intake, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 months. RESULTS Findings revealed elevated levels of depression compared to the general population, which decreased during treatment and then remained stable over follow-up. Greater AA attendance was associated with better subsequent alcohol use outcomes and decreased depression. Greater depression was associated with heavier and more frequent drinking. Lagged mediation analyses revealed that the effects of AA on alcohol use was mediated partially by reductions in depression symptoms. However, this salutary effect on depression itself appeared to be explained by AAs proximal effect on reducing concurrent drinking. CONCLUSIONS AA attendance was associated both concurrently and predictively with improved alcohol outcomes. Although AA attendance was associated additionally with subsequent improvements in depression, it did not predict such improvements over and above concurrent alcohol use. AA appears to lead both to improvements in alcohol use and psychological and emotional wellbeing which, in turn, may reinforce further abstinence and recovery-related change.

The route to change: within-session predictors of change plan completion in a motivational interview.

This study is the first to examine within-session therapist and client language/process predictors of a clients decision to complete a written Change Plan in an alcohol-focused motivational interview (MI). Data were from an ongoing hospital-based clinical trial (N = 291). Trained raters coded audiorecorded MI sessions using the Motivational Interviewing Skill Code. Logistic regression analyses found that therapist MI-consistent behaviors (b = .023, p < .001) and client change talk (b = .063, p < .001) were positive predictors, and client counter change talk (b = -.093, p < .001) was a negative predictor of the decision to complete a Change Plan regarding alcohol use. Mean comparisons showed that compared to noncompletion, Change Plan completion did not result in significantly greater changes in client motivational readiness. Completion of a Change Plan is a proximal outcome in MI that is associated with client intention to change (change talk) and may predict follow-up alcohol outcomes. Analyses of such theory-driven proximal client mechanisms provide a more complete model of MI process and may inform MI providers of necessary treatment ingredients.

Recent advances in behavioral addiction treatments: focusing on mechanisms of change.

In the latter half of the 20th century, research on behavioral treatments for addictions aimed to develop and test effective treatments. Among the treatments found to be at least moderately effective, direct comparisons failed to reveal consistent superiority of one approach over another. This ubiquitous finding held true despite underlying theories that differed markedly in their proposed causal processes related to patient change. In the 21st century, the focus of treatment research is increasingly on how treatment works for whom rather than whether it works. Studies of active treatment ingredients and mechanisms of behavioral change, while promising, have yielded inconsistent results. Simple mediation analysis may need to be expanded via inclusion of models testing for moderated mediation, mediated moderation, and conditional indirect effects. Examples are offered as to how these more complex models can lead to increased understanding of the conditions under which specific treatment interventions will be effective and mechanisms of change operative in improving behavioral treatments for addictions.

Improving colon cancer screening rates in primary care: a pilot study emphasising the role of the medical assistant

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third-leading cause of cancer death for both men and women in the USA. Despite consensus recommendations for screening, just over half of eligible adults nationally have undergone screening. We therefore implemented a programme to improve the rate of CRC screening. Methods: This study was conducted in the Utah Health Research Network and the University of Utah Community Clinics, a 100 000 patient, seven-practice, university-owned system offering primary and secondary care and ancillary services including endoscopy. We focused on patients aged ⩾50 who were seen between 1 January 2003 and 31 October 2006, and who were not current for CRC screening at the time of the visit. The study included a three-phase intervention: electronic medical record (EMR) reminders, physician and medical assistant (MA) education about CRC screening guidelines, and redesign of patient visit workflow with an expanded role for MAs to review patients’ CRC screening status and recommend testing when appropriate. With patient agreement, the MA entered a preliminary order in the EMR, and the physician confirmed or rejected the order. The primary outcome measure was the rate of screening colonoscopy ordered for eligible patients. Results: The baseline colonoscopy referral rate was 6.0%. Provider education and electronic reminders had minimal immediate impact on screening rates. Addition of the expanded MA role was associated with a sustained increase in colonoscopy referral order rate to 13.4%, a relative improvement of 123%. Conclusions: The MA can play a key role in improving CRC screening rates as part of a redesigned system of primary care.

In-session processes of brief motivational interventions in two trials with mandated college students

OBJECTIVE Each year, thousands of college students receive mandated intervention as a sanction for alcohol use or alcohol-related behavior. For these mandated students, brief motivational interventions (BMIs) are currently the most efficacious individual intervention. However, little is known about how the technical (therapist behaviors) and relational (e.g., global ratings of therapist empathy) components of BMIs influence client language as well as subsequent change in alcohol use and consequences. METHOD This study used the Motivational Interviewing Skills Code (MISC 2.0; Miller, Moyers, Ernst, & Amrhein, 2003) to code BMI sessions from 2 randomized clinical trials that facilitated significant reductions in alcohol use (Study 1, n = 91) and alcohol-related consequences (Study 2, n = 158) in mandated students. RESULTS There were significant relationships among therapist behaviors, global scores, and client language both for and against change, yet there were no links between in-session client language and subsequent changes in alcohol use or problems. In contrast, relational aspects of motivational interviewing (MI; global ratings of therapist MI Spirit and client self-exploration) were most predictive of postsession alcohol use. Mediation models incorporating both technical and relational components revealed that higher levels of client self-exploration mediated the relationship between higher therapist ratings of MI Spirit and reduced drinking at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS Findings highlight the importance of considering how both technical and relational components of MI may influence alcohol use in mandated college students and also suggest more exact analyses to better understand this complex relationship.

Effect of a significant other on client change talk in motivational interviewing.

OBJECTIVE To examine significant-other (SO) and therapist behaviors as predictors of client change language within motivational interviewing (MI) sessions. METHOD Participants from an emergency department received a single session of MI that included SO participation (N = 157). Sessions were coded using therapy process coding systems. Sessions were subdivided into 10 equal deciles to facilitate sequential analyses. Multilevel modeling was used to examine the relationships among the following variables: therapist MI-consistent and MI-inconsistent behaviors; client change talk and sustain talk; and SO Support Change and SO Against Change. RESULTS Therapist MI-consistent and MI-inconsistent behaviors failed to predict either client change talk or sustain talk at the decile level. Global measures of therapist MI spirit and acceptance were associated with lower levels of client sustain talk (p = .002 and p < .001, respectively). Higher levels of SO Support Change were more likely to be followed by higher levels of client change talk (p < .001) and lower levels of client sustain talk (p < .001). SOs who engaged in behaviors that discouraged the patients drinking in the 6 months prior to the intervention had higher levels of SO Support Change language (p = .02). When analyzed at the aggregate level, therapist behavior was significantly associated with client change talk, but effect sizes were quite modest. CONCLUSIONS Within-session SO behavior impacts client verbalizations regarding changes in alcohol use. Results raise questions about the role of therapist behavior when an SO is present.