{"title":"Effectiveness of Cue-Exposure Therapy on Alcohol Craving in Virtual Environment: Based on habit loop.","authors":"Alireza Karimpour Vazifehkhorani, Arina Attaran, Azizeh Karimi Saraskandrud, Haniyeh Faghih, Narges Yeganeh","doi":"10.22122/AHJ.2022.196454.1288","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In the treatment and abstinence of alcoholism, especially in abstinence after treatment, \"Craving\" has an essential role. Thus, our aim was to examine the effect of cue-exposure therapy on alcohol craving in virtual environment based on the habit loop.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The present investigation was a case-control experimental study with a pretest-posttest-5 weeks follow-up design. Research population were alcohol-addicted people hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital. We had 62 subjects who had abstained from alcohol consumption. The sampling method was convenience sampling and the sample allocation was randomized and matched. The intervention was VR-CET that was implemented in eight sessions. Penn Alcohol Craving Scale, Alcohol Urge Questionnaire, and Obsessive-Compulsive Drinking Scale were used to collect the data. In order to analyze the data, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS V.23 was performed.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Our results showed that after implementation of VR-CET program the rate of PACS reduced significantly in posttest stage (p = 0.01) and follow up stage (p= 0.05). Also, the rate of AUQ and OCDS after exposure to VR-CET program declined significantly. The significant level of AUQ and OCDS in posttest and follow up stages were set at p- value < 0.01 and p-value <0.05 respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>VR-CET program can reduce alcohol craving by paying attention to various cues and contexts. In fact, it would be more beneficial if the treatment environment resembles a conditioned context and contains as many related cues as possible.</p>","PeriodicalId":33943,"journal":{"name":"Addiction and Health","volume":"14 2","pages":"78-86"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2022-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/5c/bc/ahj-14-78.PMC9743816.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Addiction and Health","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.22122/AHJ.2022.196454.1288","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: In the treatment and abstinence of alcoholism, especially in abstinence after treatment, "Craving" has an essential role. Thus, our aim was to examine the effect of cue-exposure therapy on alcohol craving in virtual environment based on the habit loop.
Methods: The present investigation was a case-control experimental study with a pretest-posttest-5 weeks follow-up design. Research population were alcohol-addicted people hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital. We had 62 subjects who had abstained from alcohol consumption. The sampling method was convenience sampling and the sample allocation was randomized and matched. The intervention was VR-CET that was implemented in eight sessions. Penn Alcohol Craving Scale, Alcohol Urge Questionnaire, and Obsessive-Compulsive Drinking Scale were used to collect the data. In order to analyze the data, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS V.23 was performed.
Findings: Our results showed that after implementation of VR-CET program the rate of PACS reduced significantly in posttest stage (p = 0.01) and follow up stage (p= 0.05). Also, the rate of AUQ and OCDS after exposure to VR-CET program declined significantly. The significant level of AUQ and OCDS in posttest and follow up stages were set at p- value < 0.01 and p-value <0.05 respectively.
Conclusion: VR-CET program can reduce alcohol craving by paying attention to various cues and contexts. In fact, it would be more beneficial if the treatment environment resembles a conditioned context and contains as many related cues as possible.