A self-help approach for high-risk drinking: Effect of an initial assessment.

Aself-help book was offered to persons wanting to quit or cut down on their alcohol use. Study participants (99 men, 56 women) were recruited through advertisements, screened by telephone, and randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions: Book by mail or Assessment?+?Book (30-min telephone motivational interview plus book by mail). At 3-month follow-up, significantly more participants qualified as moderate drinkers in the Assessment?+?Book condition (65% vs. 43%), by this criterion: ≤ 12 drinks/week and ≤ 10% heavy drinking days (5+ drinks if male and 4+ drinks if female; 13.6 g of ethanol per drink). At 12 months there was no effect of condition, but significantly more women than men were rated as moderate drinkers (71% vs. 52%). Collateral informants corroborated the participants' reports of drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Random assignment to abstinence and controlled drinking: Evaluation of a cognitive-behavioral program for problem drinkers.

Assessed cognitive-behavioral program with a goal of either abstinence or controlled drinking using 70 early-stage problem drinkers who were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 goal conditions and within each condition to 1 of 2 therapists. Ss averaged 6 individual weekly sessions, each lasting approximately 90 min. Both groups were taught to identify risk situations and existing competencies, to develop cognitive and behavioral coping, and to assess their progress objectively. The controlled-drinking group was also taught procedures for moderate drinking. Over the 2-yr follow-up period, no significant differences were found between the groups in reported alcohol consumption. Six months after treatment, drinking had been reduced from an average of about 51 drinks/week to 13, and this reduction was maintained throughout the 2nd year. Reports of drinking were corroborated by independent measures. Although the outcomes of the groups were similar, controlled drinking was considered to be a more suitable goal; it was more acceptable to the majority of the clients, and most of those assigned to abstinence developed moderate drinking on their own. (51 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive and behavioral coping strategies in the reappraisal of stressful social situations.

Compared cognitive and behavioral coping strategies for eliciting reappraisal of stressful social situations in 22 male and 27 female 7th and 8th graders. In the cognitive coping condition Ss were trained to attend objectively to the aversive cues in the stimulus person and were encouraged to reconsider their aversiveness. In the behavioral coping condition Ss were trained to develop more adequate behaviors for coping with the stressful situation. These 2 strategies were tested alone and in combination against an identification-control condition. The coping strategies were more effective in eliciting positive reappraisal of the stressful situation than was the control condition. The behavioral coping strategy resulted in a greater reduction of cue aversiveness. Findings stress the importance of behavioral coping in the reappraisal of stressful stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)