Social validity of digital social incentives in the treatment of substance use disorders

Abstract

Substance use disorders (SUDs) affect millions and have substantial negative consequences for individuals and society. Social incentives that leverage social networks for reinforcement or feedback have been used to improve health behaviors such as physical activity. This study investigated the feasibility, acceptability, and usability of a novel digital social incentive system embedded into a web‐ and smartphone‐based platform for SUD recovery. The system leveraged a preexisting care team to deliver social incentives following notifications on recovery‐related goal completion and abstinence to members undergoing SUD treatment. In total, 243 notifications were sent to care‐team members, resulting in 117 social incentives, nearly all of which (99.15%) were coded as positive. Treatment members and care‐team members provided favorable endorsements on acceptability and usability measures. Some areas of improvement were identified, such as increasing personalization and transparency. This digital social incentive system was feasible, acceptable, and usable as an adjunct treatment component for SUD recovery.