Prize-based contingency management for the treatment of substance abusers: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Aim To review randomized controlled trials to assess efficacy of a prize-based contingency management procedure in reducing substance use (where a drug-free breath or urine sample provides a chance of winning a prize). Methods A meta-analysis was conducted on articles published from January 2000 to February 2013 to determine the effect size of studies comparing prize-based contingency management to a treatment-as-usual control condition (k=19 studies). Parallel analyses evaluated the efficacy of both short- (k=9 studies) and long-term outcomes (k=6 studies) of prize-based contingency management . Results The average end-of-treatment effect size (Cohen's d) was .46 [95% CI=0.37,0.54). This effect size decreased at the short-term (≤ 3-month) post-intervention follow-up to .33 (95% CI=0.12,0.54) and at the 6-month follow-up time point there was no detectable effect (d=-.09 (95% CI=−0.28,0.10)). Conclusion Adding prize-based contingency management to behavioral support for substance use disorders can increase short-term abstinence but the effect does not appear to persist to 6 months.

Harm Reduction Treatment Interventions for Rural Methamphetamine Abuse

“…positive reinforcer, it competes with the reinforcing effects of the drug and increases the likelihood that drug abstinence is initiated and maintained [30].The reason this seems to be effective is that the benefits typically outweighs the benefits of using the drug. Therefore, this method could be utilized in sessions while utilizing the harm reduction approach.…”

Substance Abuse Therapeutics

“…BT was, in part, a reaction to psychoanalysis that was seen as pessimistic, deterministic, and nearly impossible to investigate empirically. An example of a behavioral approach to substance abuse therapeutics is contingency management (CM [55,56]). CM uses the principles of operant conditioning and provides established reinforcers for drug abstinence or other objective measures of drug abstinence.…”

“…[89] Review of the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions with substance use disorders [55] Evaluation of a contingency management program to reduce substance use Substance Abuse Therapeutics http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/64264…”

Contingency management: Why it pays to quit

“…A number of meta-analyses 4 have shown that incentives work considerably better than more conventional addiction-management programmes, particularly when vouchers are added to the protocol. What is more, says Higgins, vouchers are the only treatment so far that works for cocaine users.…”