Dual Reinforcement Contingency Management for Alcohol Use Disorders

NCT04064463 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: 19-146-2
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 74
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is a direct biomarker of alcohol that can detect moderate to heavy drinking with high sensitivity and specificity over 3-week periods. Reinforcing negative PEth results alongside attendance may increase the proportion of participants who respond to CM during and post treatment. In the proposed study, the investigators will collect PEth samples every 3 weeks for 12 weeks in 150 participants initiating outpatient treatment for alcohol use disorders. Using a two-group randomized design, participants will be assigned to standard care with PEth monitoring alone or with CM for attending treatment and submitting PEth negative samples. Compared to standard care and monitoring, the investigators expect that the CM intervention will result in greater attendance, more PEth negative samples, and higher proportions of self-reported non-drinking days, along with lower proportions of heavy drinking days, over the short term and the long term, measured throughout a 12-month follow-up. The investigators anticipate that the reinforcement intervention may decrease other drug use and sexual risk behaviors that spread HIV, reduce psychiatric symptoms, and improve quality of life as well.

Conditions

Alcohol Use Disorder; Contingency Management

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Group attendance

  longest consecutive days attended groups

  12 weeks

• Alcohol abstinence

  number of negative PEth samples

  12 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Control Group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Standard care

Behavioral: Standard care

Experimental Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Standard care plus contingency management

Behavioral: Standard care; Behavioral: Contingency management

Interventions

Contingency management BEHAVIORAL

Participants can earn reinforcement for attending group and abstinence from alcohol

Experimental Group

Standard care BEHAVIORAL

standard treatment for substance use disorders, along with sample monitoring

Control Group; Experimental Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• in intensive outpatient treatment
• DSM-5 diagnosis of an alcohol use disorder

You may not qualify if:

• have a condition that may hinder study participation

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): collaborator
• UConn Health: lead

Study Sites (1)

The Village

Hartford, Connecticut, 06105, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alcoholism

Interventions

Standard of Care

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Alcohol-Related Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Quality Indicators, Health Care; Quality of Health Care; Health Services Administration; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation

Study Officials

• Sheila Alessi, Ph.D.

  UConn Health

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 20, 2019
• First Posted: August 22, 2019
• Study Start: January 22, 2020
• Primary Completion: November 25, 2025
• Study Completion: November 25, 2025
• Last Updated: February 9, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-12

Locations

US (1)