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. 2009 Apr;77(2):229-42.
doi: 10.1037/a0015252.

Changing network support for drinking: network support project 2-year follow-up

Mark D Litt  1 , Ronald M Kadden, Elise Kabela-Cormier, Nancy M Petry
Affiliations

Changing network support for drinking: network support project 2-year follow-up

Mark D Litt et al. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2009 Apr.

Abstract

The Network Support Project was designed to determine whether a treatment could lead patients to change their social network from one that supports drinking to one that supports sobriety. This study reports 2-year posttreatment outcomes. Alcohol-dependent men and women (N = 210) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 outpatient treatment conditions: network support (NS), network support + contingency management (NS + CM), or case management (CaseM, a control condition). Analysis of drinking rates indicated that the NS condition yielded up to 20% more days abstinent than the other conditions at 2 years posttreatment. NS treatment also resulted in greater increases at 15 months in social network support for abstinence, as well as in AA attendance and AA involvement than did the other conditions. Latent growth modeling suggested that social network changes were accompanied by increases in self-efficacy and coping that were strongly predictive of long-term drinking outcomes. The findings indicate that a network support treatment can effect long-term adaptive changes in drinkers' social networks and that these changes contribute to improved drinking outcomes in the long term.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diagram showing flow of participants through each stage of study up to 27 month follow-up.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of treatment on drinking outcomes and on drinking consequences.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of treatment on selected measures of social network change (measured using the IPA; Clifford & Longabaugh, 1991).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of treatment on AA measures.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effects of Treatment on Self-Efficacy and Coping Skills Scale scores.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Diagram showing final structural equation model of treatment effects and mediators on slope and intercept of outcome, measured as Proportion Days Abstinent (PDA) every 3 months over 27 months. Post-Tx = posttreatment; NS=Network Support; CaseM=Case Management; NS+CM=Network Support + Contingency Management; df=degrees of freedom; CFI=Comparative Fit Index; RMSEA=Root Means Square Error of Approximation. Dotted line indicates a covariance estimate, rather than a regression coefficient. Note: * p < .01.
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