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. 2017 Feb;8(1):126-135.
doi: 10.1007/s12671-016-0586-9. Epub 2016 Aug 4.

Mindfulness Based Relapse Prevention for Stimulant Dependent Adults: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial

Suzette Glasner-Edwards  1 , Larissa J Mooney  1 , Alfonso Ang  1 , Hélène Chokron Garneau  1 , Emily Hartwell  1 , Mary-Lynn Brecht  1 , Richard A Rawson  1
Affiliations

Mindfulness Based Relapse Prevention for Stimulant Dependent Adults: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial

Suzette Glasner-Edwards et al. Mindfulness (N Y). 2017 Feb.

Abstract

In light of the known associations between stress, negative affect, and relapse, mindfulness strategies hold promise as a means of reducing relapse susceptibility. In a pilot randomized clinical trial, we evaluated the effects of Mindfulness Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP), relative to a health education control condition (HE) among stimulant dependent adults receiving contingency management. All participants received a 12-week contingency management (CM) intervention. Following a 4-week CM-only lead in phase, participants were randomly assigned to concurrently receive MBRP (n=31) or HE (n=32). Stimulant dependent adults age 18 and over. A university based clinical research center. The primary outcomes were stimulant use, measured by urine drug screens weekly during the intervention and at 1-month post-treatment, negative affect, measured by the Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory, and psychiatric severity, measured by the Addiction Severity Index. Medium effect sizes favoring MBRP were observed for negative affect and overall psychiatric severity outcomes. Depression severity changed differentially over time as a function of group, with MBRP participants reporting greater reductions through follow-up (p=0.03; Effect Size=0.58). Likewise, the MBRP group evidenced greater declines in psychiatric severity, (p=0.01; Effect Size=0.61 at follow-up). Among those with depressive and anxiety disorders, MBRP was associated with lower odds of stimulant use relative to the control condition (Odds Ratio= 0.78, p=0.03 and OR=0.68, p=0.04). MBRP effectively reduces negative affect and psychiatric impairment, and is particularly effective in reducing stimulant use among stimulant dependent adults with mood and anxiety disorders.

Keywords: addiction; mindfulness; stimulants; substance abuse; treatment outcome.

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Conflict of interest statement

No conflict exists. All authors of this paper declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean total BDI scores over time by treatment group
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean total BAI scores across time by treatment group
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean ASI psychiatric composite scores at weeks 0, 12 and 16 by treatment group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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