Comparing the efficacy of mindfulness-based relapse prevention versus relapse prevention for alcohol use disorder: A randomized control trial
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: This study compared the efficacy of mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) with relapse prevention (RP) on reducing alcohol consumption. Secondary, exploratory aims assessed moderation of treatment effects by sex and cannabis use. METHOD: A total of 182 individuals (48.4% female; 21-60 years old) who reported drinking more than 14/21 drinks/week (for women and men, respectively) in the past 3 months but who wished to quit/reduce their drinking were recruited from Denver and Boulder, Colorado. Individuals were randomly assigned to 8 weeks of individual-based MBRP or RP treatment. Participants completed substance use assessments at baseline, halfway through and at the end of treatment, and 20 and 32 weeks after treatment. Primary outcomes were Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-consumption questions (AUDIT-C) scores, heavy drinking days (HDD), and drinks per drinking day (DDD). RESULTS: < .005, respectively). High cannabis use frequency was associated with continued posttreatment decreases in HDD/DDD for MBRP participants but increased HDD for RP participants. At low cannabis use frequency levels, HDD/DDD remained stable after treatment across groups. CONCLUSIONS: Drinking decreases were comparable across treatments, but HDD improvements diminished for RP participants after treatment. In addition, cannabis use moderated treatment efficacy for HDD/DDD.
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The retention rate of the MBRP group was slightly lower than the TAU group but comparable to, or even better than, some previous MBRP studies.
“Although the retention rate of the MBRP group was slightly lower than the TAU group, it was comparable to, or even better than, some of the previous MBRP studies [17, 49, 52, 53].”
From The feasibility of mindfulness‐based relapse prevention for adults with substance use disorders (illicit drugs) in a Chinese population: A pilot randomized controlled trial. (2026) · cites this paper as [53]
The Design section describes an MBRP-versus-RP trial, not an MBRP-versus-TAU trial. The Data analysis section mentions dropout, but the passages found do not give retention rates or compare them with earlier MBRP studies (searched: retention, attrition, dropout, and treatment completion). (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredMBRP average attendance in this study (4.59 sessions) was comparable to other studies (4.2-6.45 sessions).
“MBRP average attendance in this study (4.59 sessions) was comparable to other studies (4.2–6.45 sessions) [17, 52, 53].”
From The feasibility of mindfulness‐based relapse prevention for adults with substance use disorders (illicit drugs) in a Chinese population: A pilot randomized controlled trial. (2026) · cites this paper as [53]
The cited paper’s Study procedures describe an eight-session MBRP program, and its Substance use section says missed sessions were monitored. Neither passage reports mean attendance. Searches for 4.59, 6.45, and average sessions attended found no attendance figure to verify the comparison; the citing study’s own 4.59-session figure is not attributed to this source. (LLM, conf=0.70)
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- Authors
- Skrzynski, C. J., Karoly, H., Ellingson, J., Hangerty, S., Bryan, A. D., & Hutchison, K. E.
- Affiliations
- University of Colorado Boulder (US)
- Colorado State University (US)
- University of Colorado Anschutz (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
- Publisher
- Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc.
- Published
- 2023-02-01
- Volume
- 84
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 560-569
- ISSN
- 1937-1888 (ISSN-L)
- 1938-4114
- PMC
- PMC10488314
- OpenAlex
- W4318777305
- Cited by
- 9
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2
- FWCI
- 1.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Ministry of Education, India
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R01AA024632, K23AA028238)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
- Keywords
- mindfulness-based relapse prevention, relapse prevention, alcoholism, alcohol consumption reduction, heavy drinking, cannabis use, treatment moderators, sex differences, treatment efficacy
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Alcohol Drinking, Alcoholism, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Substance-Related Disorders, Secondary Prevention, Young Adult, Mindfulness
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