A money management-based substance use treatment increases valuation of future rewards.
OBJECTIVE
A positive association between delay discounting and substance use has been documented; substance users tend to discount future rewards more than non-users. However, studies detailing the responsiveness of delay discounting to interventions are lacking, and few have examined how any behavioral intervention affects delay discounting and whether these effects moderate changes in substance abuse. This study assesses the effectiveness of a money management intervention, Advisor-Teller Money Manager (ATM), in reducing delay discounting over time and the relationship of these effects to changes in cocaine use.


METHODS
Ninety psychiatric patients with histories of cocaine and/or alcohol use were randomly assigned to 36-weeks of ATM treatment or to a minimal-attention control condition. Delay discounting and cocaine use were measured throughout the intervention with a 52-week follow up measure of cocaine use. Analyses were conducted of (a) the effect of ATM on slopes of delay discounting and cocaine abstinence and (b) the relationship between change in delay discounting and change in cocaine abstinence.


RESULTS
The ATM intervention was associated with significantly less delay discounting and less cocaine use over time relative to controls. Increases in delay discounting were associated with decreased abstinence from cocaine.


CONCLUSIONS
ATM treatment decreased delay discounting rates and these effects extended to cocaine use. Concrete conceptualizations of future events, as occur in financial planning, with higher perceived probability may account for higher valuation of future rewards in counseled patients.
Black
Anne C
AC
Yale University, School of Medicine, 950 Campbell Avenue, West Haven, CT 06516, United States. anne.black@yale.edu
Rosen
Marc I
MI
D000328:Adult; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000191:economics* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000191:economics* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002017:Budgets; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000191:economics* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012201:Reward
J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000 Dec;79(6):876-89
11138758
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2003 Aug 20;71(2):133-41
12927651
Psychiatr Serv. 2010 Jul;61(7):707-13
20592006
Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2009 Oct;17(5):345-55
19803634
Addiction. 2007 Apr;102(4):579-86
17309540
Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2003 Feb;11(1):18-25
12622340
Addiction. 2004 Apr;99(4):461-71
15049746
J Abnorm Psychol. 2003 Aug;112(3):382-92
12943017
Addiction. 2001 Jan;96(1):73-86
11177521
Addict Behav. 2007 Feb;32(2):351-7
16647214
Psychol Rev. 2003 Jul;110(3):403-21
12885109
J Adolesc Res. 2004 Jul 1;19(4):428-445
16429605
J Exp Psychol Gen. 1999 Mar;128(1):78-87
10100392
Am J Addict. 2005 Oct-Dec;14(5):478-85
16257885
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2001 Mar;154(3):243-50
11351931
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2008 Sep;200(1):1-26
18600315
Addict Biol. 2009 Jan;14(1):22-31
18855805
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1999 Oct;146(4):447-54
10550495
Control Clin Trials. 2004 Feb;25(1):13-30
14980746