Enhancing Emotion Regulation and Overcoming Craving in Alcohol Dependence Syndrome Through Mindfulness-based Relapse Prevention.
Nimisha Kumar, Naresh Chandel
Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine May 26, 2024 DOI: 10.1177/02537176241246332 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 50 |
| Population | Patients aged 18-55 with alcohol dependence syndrome |
| Interventions | Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) usual care |
| Duration | Pre-intervention (T1), mid-intervention at four weeks (T2), and post-intervention at MBRP completion (T3) |
| Measures | Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-18 (DERS-18), Alcohol Craving Questionnaire-Short Form Revised (ACQ-SF-R) |
| Topics | Addiction Meditation |
| Keywords | Craving Emotion regulation Alcohol dependence syndrome Mindfulness-based relapse prevention |
| Key findings | Mindfulness-based relapse prevention plus usual care and usual care alone both produced moderate improvements in emotion regulation, but the mindfulness group showed a larger reduction in alcohol craving (effect size 1.43 vs 0.47), which the authors argue is important for relapse prevention. |
Abstract
Background: Alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS) is a significant challenge for psychologists due to relapse and its impacts on well-being. Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) has emerged as a potential solution, receiving increasing attention in the field of psychological interventions for ADS. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of MBRP, specifically on emotion regulation and alcohol craving as primary outcomes, alongside the secondary consideration of assessing changes in mindfulness levels.
Methods: In this quasi-experimental study utilizing a pre-test/post-test design, 50 patients (aged 18-55) with ADS were enrolled in the intervention group (MBRP + usual care) and the usual care alone (UCA) group. The outcome assessment employed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-18 (DERS-18) and Alcohol Craving Questionnaire-Short Form Revised (ACQ-SF-R) at three time points: pre-intervention (T1), mid-intervention (T2, four weeks after MBRP initiation), and post-intervention (T3, MBRP completion). Post-intervention comparisons between the intervention and UCA groups utilized repeated measures ANOVA (p < .05).
Result: In the intervention group, significant within-group improvements were observed in mean scores of emotion regulation and craving at T1 (56.8 ± 7.6 and 41.6 ± 7.3), T2 (61.7 ± 10.5 and 41.5 ± 7.4), and T3 (61.5 ± 10.6 and 35.6 ± 5.4), with p values of .006 and .001, respectively. In comparison, the UCA group showed significant post-intervention differences in emotion regulation (46.9 ± 16.4) and craving (34 ± 11.82) scores, with a p value of .004. The effect sizes for emotion regulation (0.42) and craving (1.43) in the intervention group and for emotion regulation (0.50) and craving (0.47) in the UCA group further demonstrated more favorable outcomes in the intervention group, especially in reducing craving.
Conclusion: Our research indicates that intervention and UCA yields moderate enhancements in emotion regulation; however, intervention demonstrates superior efficacy in diminishing craving, which is pivotal for relapse prevention. Incorporating MBRP with bespoke interventions might optimize the long-term treatment of ADS.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition | |
| Neural Correlates of Ongoing Conscious Experience: Both Task-Unrelatedness and Stimulus-Independence Are Related to Default Network Activity Participants performing a go/no-go task while undergoing functional neuroimaging | 2011 | Observational neuroimaging study using thought-probes during a go/no-go task | |
| Mindful attention reduces neural and self-reported cue-induced craving in smokers Treatment-seeking smokers, meditation-naïve, 12-hour abstinent | 2011 | Experimental study | n = 47 |
| DOI-Induced Activation of the Cortex: Dependence on 5-HT2AHeteroceptors on Thalamocortical Glutamatergic Neurons Rat | 2000 | Experimental study | |
| Noribogaine is a G-protein biased κ-opioid receptor agonist. | 2015 | Experimental study with binding experiments, functional assays, and computational simulations |
Citations in the library
Cites 10
- Mindfulness Meditation and Psychopathology Annual Review of Clinical Psychology December 11, 2018
- Mindfulness-Based Interventions for the Treatment of Substance and Behavioral Addictions: A Systematic Review Frontiers in Psychiatry March 29, 2018
- Brief, daily meditation enhances attention, memory, mood, and emotional regulation in non-experienced meditators. Behavioural Brain Research January 1, 2019
- Mindfulness and craving: effects and mechanisms. Clinical Psychology Review February 2018
- Mindfulness meditation in the treatment of substance use disorders and preventing future relapse: neurocognitive mechanisms and clinical implications. Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation 2018
and 5 more in the library