Ultra-Brief Breath Counting (Mindfulness) Training Abolishes Negative Affect-Induced Alcohol Motivation in Hazardous Community Drinkers.

Brief breath counting training reduced the increase in alcohol motivation caused by negative mood in hazardous community drinkers. In two online studies (n=122 and n=111) and one in-person pub study (n=62), participants were randomized to a 6-minute breath counting exercise or a control audio. Breath counting eliminated the negative mood-induced rise in alcohol craving (Study 2) and the stress-induced increase in choosing alcohol over food pictures in a pub setting (Study 3). Study 1 found reduced craving but could not demonstrate reversal of a mood-induced increase because the mood induction did not raise craving. Breath counting appears a practical method for reducing emotional triggers of alcohol motivation.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Mindfulness therapy improves drinking outcomes arguably by attenuating negative mood-induced drinking, but this mechanism has not been demonstrated in hazardous community drinkers. To address this, three studies tested whether a key ingredient of mindfulness, breath counting, would attenuate the increase in motivation for alcohol produced by experimentally induced negative mood, in hazardous community drinkers. In three studies, hazardous community drinkers were randomized to receive either a 6-min breath counting training or listen to a recited extract from a popular science book, before all participants received a negative mood induction. Motivation for alcohol was measured before and after listening to either the breath counting training or the control audio files, with a craving questionnaire in two online studies (n = 122 and n = 111), or an alcohol versus food picture choice task in a pub context in one in-person study (n = 62). In Study 1, breath counting reduced alcohol craving. However, since the mood induction protocol did not increase craving, the effect of breath counting in reversing such increase could not be demonstrated. Online breath counting eliminated the increase in alcohol craving induced by negative mood (Study 2) and eliminated the stress-induced increase in alcohol picture choice in the pub environment (Study 3). Briefly trained breath counting attenuated negative mood-induced alcohol motivation in hazardous community drinkers. These results suggest that breath counting is a reliable and practical method for reducing the impact of negative emotional triggers on alcohol motivation. These studies are not preregistered.