A brief alcohol intervention for hazardously drinking incarcerated women

Abstract

Objective: To test the hypothesis that among hazardously drinking incarcerated women who are returning to the community, a brief alcohol intervention will result in less alcohol use at follow-up relative to standard of care.

Methods: Eligible participants endorsed hazardous alcohol consumption-four or more drinks at a time on at least 3 separate days in the previous 3 months or a score of 8 or above on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Participants were randomized to either an assessment-only condition or to two brief motivationally focused sessions, the first delivered during incarceration, the second 1 month later after community re-entry. Participants recalled drinking behaviors at 3 and 6 months after the baseline interview using a 90-day time-line follow-back method.

Results: The 245 female participants averaged 34 years of age, and were 71% Caucasian. The mean percentage of alcohol use days in the 3 months prior to incarceration was 51.7% and heavy alcohol use days was 43.9%. Intervention effects on abstinent days were statistically significant at 3 months (odds ratio = 1.96, 95% confidence interval 1.17, 3.30); the percentage of days abstinent was 68% for those randomized to intervention and 57% for controls. At 6 months the effect of the intervention was attenuated and no longer statistically significant.

Conclusions: Among incarcerated women who reported hazardous drinking, a two-session brief alcohol intervention increased abstinent days at 3 months, but this effect decayed by 6 months. Study participants continued to drink heavily after return to the community. More intensive intervention pre-release and after re-entry may benefit hazardously drinking incarcerated women.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00237003.

Keywords: Alcohol; Incarceration; Women.

Figure 1

Study Enrollment and Protocol.

Figure 2

Expected Probability of a Zero-Count and the Expected Drinks per Drinking Day by Treatment Group and Assessment Period Estimated by ZINB. The first intervention session followed the baseline assessment. The second intervention session followed the 1-month assessment.