title: Pretreatment assessment-related reductions in drinking among women with alcohol use disorders.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Preliminary studies have suggested that patients entering research trials for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) may show substantial reductions in drinking prior to beginning treatment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Determine whether significant pretreatment reductions in drinking are present in a sample of alcohol-dependent women entering a psychotherapy trial for AUDs, and whether such pretreatment drinking reductions predict lower levels of drinking during and posttreatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 136 women with DSM-IV alcohol dependence who participated in a trial of individual or couples-based cognitive behavioral therapy for AUDs. Repeated-measures ANOVAs were used to examine changes in drinking across the pretreatment assessment period, and hierarchical multiple regression was used to test whether pretreatment reductions in drinking predicted continued reduced drinking during treatment and follow-up at 12 months posttreatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients had significant reductions in drinking quantity and frequency throughout the pretreatment period, with one-third of the sample becoming abstinent prior to treatment. Controlling for baseline quantity and frequency of drinking, reductions in pretreatment drinking were predictive of reduced frequency of drinking within- and posttreatment, and lower quantity of drinking per drinking occasion in the within-treatment period but not the posttreatment period. Motivational level and treatment arm did not predict the level of change in drinking across the pretreatment period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The overall reductions in drinking are consistent with previous findings suggesting that female participants in AUD treatment trials can show a substantial amount of reduction in drinking during the pretreatment assessment phase, before therapy skills are imparted.
authors.affiliation: 1Institute of Living, Department of Psychiatry , Hartford, Connecticut , USA.
authors.forename: Blaise L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Worden
authors.forename: Elizabeth E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.forename: Barbara S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: McCrady
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Alcohol; alcohol dependence; assessment; assessment reactivity; substance use; treatment; women