Adapting and Piloting Behavioral Activation for Veterans With Alcohol Use Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Description

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare an adaptation of Behavioral Activation, a behavioral intervention, to Relapse Prevention treatment, another behavioral intervention, in a sample of U.S. military veterans with co-occurring alcohol use disorder (AUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The primary aims of this study are to: 1. Adapt Behavioral Activation to treat veterans with AUD/PTSD, 2. Evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of Behavioral Activation for AUD/PTSD, and 3. Explore geospatial analysis as a new method for measuring AUD/PTSD recovery. Participants will complete self-report and interview measures immediately before and immediately after treatment. Participants will also be asked to participate in passive geospatial assessment for 14-day periods immediately before and immediately after treatment. Participants will be randomized to treatment condition, which involves 8 sessions of either Behavioral Activation or Relapse Prevention, delivered individually by a trained study therapist.

Conditions

Alcohol Use Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Talk to us

Study Overview

On this page

Study Details

Study overview

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare an adaptation of Behavioral Activation, a behavioral intervention, to Relapse Prevention treatment, another behavioral intervention, in a sample of U.S. military veterans with co-occurring alcohol use disorder (AUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The primary aims of this study are to: 1. Adapt Behavioral Activation to treat veterans with AUD/PTSD, 2. Evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of Behavioral Activation for AUD/PTSD, and 3. Explore geospatial analysis as a new method for measuring AUD/PTSD recovery. Participants will complete self-report and interview measures immediately before and immediately after treatment. Participants will also be asked to participate in passive geospatial assessment for 14-day periods immediately before and immediately after treatment. Participants will be randomized to treatment condition, which involves 8 sessions of either Behavioral Activation or Relapse Prevention, delivered individually by a trained study therapist.

Adapting and Piloting Behavioral Activation for Veterans With Co-Occurring AUD and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Adapting and Piloting Behavioral Activation for Veterans With Alcohol Use Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Condition
Alcohol Use Disorder
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

Durham

Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27710

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • 1. Be a U.S. veteran,
  • 2. Be 18 to 65 years old,
  • 3. Meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria for current AUD,
  • 4. Report 3+ heavy drinking days (5+ drinks for men/4+ drinks for women) and 1+ heavy drinking week (15+ drinks men/8+ drinks women) in the past 30 days,
  • 5. Meet DSM-5 criteria for current PTSD,
  • 6. Endorse at least moderate difficulties with psychosocial functioning, defined as a score of 31+ on the Brief Inventory of Psychosocial Functioning (BIPF),
  • 7. Be fluent and literate in English, and
  • 8. Be able to provide voluntary, informed consent to participate.
  • 1. Lifetime mania/hypomania or current psychosis,
  • 2. Lifetime history of seizures,
  • 3. Lifetime alcohol withdrawal-related delirium or hallucinations,
  • 4. Prior inpatient alcohol withdrawal management,
  • 5. A score of 10+ on the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment of Alcohol Scale, Revised (CIWA-Ar),
  • 6. Current DSM-5 severe drug use disorder (DUD) except for severe tobacco use disorder (which is not exclusionary) or past-30-day heroin or non-prescription opioid use,
  • 7. Psychotropic (including alcohol abstinence) medication changes within 90 days of study enrollment or plans to change medications during the study,
  • 8. Current/planned non-study BA for any disorder during the study, or
  • 9. Current/planned evidence-based psychotherapy for AUD, PTSD, or DUD during the study.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 Years to 65 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Collaborators and Investigators

RTI International,

Shannon M Blakey, PhD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, RTI International

Eric B Elbogen, PhD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Duke University

Study Record Dates

2025-11