Abstract
Background: Alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS) is a significant challenge for psychologists due to relapse and its impacts on well-being. Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) has emerged as a potential solution, receiving increasing attention in the field of psychological interventions for ADS. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of MBRP, specifically on emotion regulation and alcohol craving as primary outcomes, alongside the secondary consideration of assessing changes in mindfulness levels. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study utilizing a pre-test/post-test design, 50 patients (aged 18–55) with ADS were enrolled in the intervention group (MBRP + usual care) and the usual care alone (UCA) group. The outcome assessment employed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-18 (DERS-18) and Alcohol Craving Questionnaire-Short Form Revised (ACQ-SF-R) at three time points: pre-intervention (T1), mid-intervention (T2, four weeks after MBRP initiation), and post-intervention (T3, MBRP completion). Post-intervention comparisons between the intervention and UCA groups utilized repeated measures ANOVA ( p < .05). Result: In the intervention group, significant within-group improvements were observed in mean scores of emotion regulation and craving at T1 (56.8 ± 7.6 and 41.6 ± 7.3), T2 (61.7 ± 10.5 and 41.5 ± 7.4), and T3 (61.5 ± 10.6 and 35.6 ± 5.4), with p values of .006 and .001, respectively. In comparison, the UCA group showed significant post-intervention differences in emotion regulation (46.9 ± 16.4) and craving (34 ± 11.82) scores, with a p value of .004. The effect sizes for emotion regulation (0.42) and craving (1.43) in the intervention group and for emotion regulation (0.50) and craving (0.47) in the UCA group further demonstrated more favorable outcomes in the intervention group, especially in reducing craving. Conclusion: Our research indicates that intervention and UCA yields moderate enhancements in emotion regulation; however, intervention demonstrates superior efficacy in diminishing craving, which is pivotal for relapse prevention. Incorporating MBRP with bespoke interventions might optimize the long-term treatment of ADS.
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