Symposia
Addictive Behaviors
Frederick J. Muench, Ph.D. (he/him/his)
Unregret Foundation
Hastings on Hudson, New York
Sean Madden, MA (he/him/his)
Doctoral Student
Hofstra University
Hempstead, New York
Results: All conditions significantly reduced their drinking at all timepoints, with TO and TA having reduced their drinks per drinking day and drinks per week significantly more at 1 and 3 months, whereas only TA was significant at 6 months for drinks per drinking day, drinking days, and drinks per week. The greatest change across groups was between 1- and 3-month follow-up. At post-intervention, there was an average reduction of over 14 standard drinks per week, and all groups maintained their reductions at 12-month follow-up with no differences between groups. Participants who identified as Black/African American (N=93) were significantly more likely to reduce their drinking than other races and this was partially mediated by higher baseline readiness for change. 78% of participants chose to receive messages for an additional 6 months following the 12-month follow-up.
Conclusion: A remote-based public-health texting intervention significantly reduced heavy drinking in help-seeking individuals . Adaptive tailoring resulted in the largest effect sized but all groups had large reductions in weekly drinking, with Black/African American participants having the largest reduction at all time-points. Nearly 80% of participants wanted to continue past the study period, with several indicating that the low effort nature of the intervention being a motivator to continue. Other findings and implications related to engagement in digital mental health and addiction interventions will be discussed.