Long-term abstinence and quality of life after a socio-ecological treatment program: an Italian experience RUNNING HEAD: Quality of life after a socio-ecological treatment 2 Long-term abstinence and quality of life after a socio-ecological treatment program: an Italian experience According to the recent report of the National Italian Institute of Statistics (2012), alcohol consumption involves 63.9% (77.5% of men and 51.2% of women) of the population aged 11 years or older and it is widespread in the north-eastern regions Italian such as Trentino-Alto Adige, Valle d'Aosta and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and in some central regions such as Molise, Abruzzo, Sardinia, Basilicata and Tuscany, especially among men. The elderly (over 65) are the most at-risk for nonmoderated consumption, while the younger (18-24 years) are the most at risk for binge drinking. Nevertheless, in Italy there are no national and professional guidelines for alcoholdependence treatment (Rehm et al., 2013) and the number of published papers per million inhabitants in the field of addiction research is among the lowest in Europe (Bramness, Henriksen, Person & Mann, 2014). In most countries, alcohol dependence treatment -especially for the most severe cases-usually comprises a combination of psychotherapy (cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and social skills training being the most prevalent interventions) and pharmacotherapy. Psychotherapy alone is used for many therapeutic interventions as well (Martin & Rehm, 2011;Miller, Wilbourne & Hettema, 2003). Intensive transitional community residential care strongly emphasizes medical, dual diagnosis, and family treatment orientations (Moos, Pettit & Gruber, 1995). However, evidence for the effectiveness of opportunistic brief interventions in a general hospital setting for problem drinkers is still inconclusive (Emmen, Schippers, Bleijenberg &