Structured preparation for alcohol detoxification. The theoretical process underlying the Abstinence Preparation Group intervention

First published: 10 May 2019 | Last updated: 20 May 2019

Design
A prospective observational study.

Setting
A community alcohol service in Surrey.

Participants
All clients ready to enter the APG were invited to participate and assessed at baseline before starting APG (t0), immediately after completion of the group (t1) and at 1 month post detoxification (t2).

Measurements
Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire; Alcohol Urge Questionnaire; Drug Taking Confidence Questionnaire; Substance Use Beliefs Questionnaire (Kouimtsidis et al, 2014) for positive and negative expectancies.

Findings
At the time of writing, 25 out of the originally intended 46 participants are recruited and analysed. SADQ score has been reduced from 29.52 (t0) to 23.90 (t1) and to 10.80 (t2). Urges (t0=36.50, t1=27.30, t2=10.76) and positive expectancies (t0=44.56, t1=34.72, t2=18.64) have reduced, whereas negative expectancies (t0=44.52, t1=39.71, t2=52.44) and self-efficacy (t0=286.40, t1=414.17, t2=741.60) have increased.

Conclusion
The above preliminary results are suggesting that the intervention is effective and it is working according to the underpinning theory.

Co-Authors

Kelly-Jo Charge; Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Joanna Moch; Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Dr Daniel Stahl; Department of Biostatistics, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London.


Conflicts of interest:

Alcohol Research UK. Authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

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Dr Christos Kouimtsidis