Analysis of the duration of abstinence after treatment for alcohol dependence in a therapeutic community: differences between the sexes
Therapeutic Communities: The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities
ISSN: 0964-1866
Publication date: 15 October 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The use and abuse of alcohol is problematic for a person’s social and individual development. Maintenance of abstinence after detoxification programs is difficult for patients who experience a craving, and relapses during the course of the disorder are common. The purpose of this paper is to describe the socio-demographic and clinical features of alcohol-dependent patients by sex and alcohol use status and to analyze the percentage of patients who remained abstinent after 10 months of psychological treatment.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 50 alcohol-dependent patients were enrolled (34 men and 16 women). The patients attended a psychological treatment program at a therapeutic community, Projecte Home Balears, Spain. This paper used the European Addiction Severity Index to collect socio-demographic data and data on alcohol and other drugs and the Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 to measure emotional management.
Findings
Significant differences were observed in occupation (χ² = 9.9; p = 0.007) and duration of alcohol use (U = 137.000; p = 0.005) by sex and hospitalizations during the previous months (χ² = 15.477; p = 0.009) and type of chronic disorder (χ² = 7.6; p = 0.022) and duration (in months) of the longest period of abstinence after treatment in facilities (U = 219.500; p = 0.097) by alcohol use status. The survival analysis showed that 25% of relapses happened after 4.5 months of treatment; at 7.3 months, 50% of the sample remained abstinent.
Originality/value
Women had used alcohol for longer since age at onset than men. Furthermore, after 7.3 months of intensive therapy, 50% of alcohol-dependent patients were abstinent.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all the patients of the therapeutic community, Projecte Home Balears, for their participation in this study.Author Disclosures: The authors report no potential conflicts of interest.Role of Funding Source: This study was partially funded by UNIR Research (http://research.unir.net), UNIR, www.unir.net, under Research Support Strategy 3 [2015–2017], Research Group “PSICONLINE. General Health Psychology” and the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO) under the framework of the Subprogram Challenge-Research (Retos-Investigación) I + D+I 2017 (PSI2017-82542-R). We would like to acknowledge the use of the facilities and support of the UNIR.
Citation
Riera-Oliver, N., Jiménez, C., Rey, J., Calvo, A.B. and Sanchez-Gutierrez, T. (2020), "Analysis of the duration of abstinence after treatment for alcohol dependence in a therapeutic community: differences between the sexes", Therapeutic Communities: The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, Vol. 41 No. 3/4, pp. 87-100. https://doi.org/10.1108/TC-11-2019-0016
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