Symposia
Improved Use of Research Evidence
R. Kathryn McHugh, Ph.D.
McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School
Belmont, Massachusetts
Megan McCarthy, BA
Clinical Research Assistant II
McLean Hospital
Belmont, Massachusetts
Despite the significant efficacy of treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs), many people do not adequately respond to treatment. Heightened reactivity to stress is common in people with SUDs and increases risk for relapse in this population. Accordingly, this is a promising target for intervention to improve treatment response in people with SUDs. The objective of this trial was to test two behavioral interventions for the reduction of stress reactivity in adults with SUDs. In this single-session clinical analogue trial, participants currently receiving treatment for SUDs were randomized to one of two active interventions or a psychoeducation control. These interventions entailed brief training in either cognitive reappraisal or affect labelling after which participants completed a stress induction. Negative affect, drug craving and salivary cortisol were assessed prior to and following the stress induction. To date, 76 participants (of a target 120) have been enrolled. We project that recruitment will be completed by September, 2022. In this presentation, we will present the main outcome results for this study: differences in stress reactivity and a behavioral marker of distress intolerance among randomized conditions. This project was funded as part of the NIH Science of Behavior Change Initiative and will consider whether the interventions engage the target mechanism (stress reactivity) and our proxies for clinical outcome (drug craving and behavioral tolerance of distress). The implications of these results for the treatment of adults with SUDs will be discussed.