Reducing alcohol consumption among heavily drinking women: Evaluating the contributions of life-skills training and booster sessions

Problem-drinking women (N = 144) without histories of severe physical depen dence on alcohol received drinking-reduction training and were assigned to receive (or not receive) 2 treatment enhancements: life-skills training and booster sessions. The design resulted in 4 treatment conditions: drinking- reduction treatment (DRT) plus life-skills training, DRT plus booster sessi ons, DRT plus life-skills training and booster sessions, or DRT only. The i nterventions entailed 13 hr of DRT, 7 hr devoted to the Life-skills trainin g or to a no-life-skills training educational module, plus 8 hr of booster sessions for those receiving them. Participants evidenced significant reduc tions in alcohol use during the 18 months after treatment. Those with great er pretreatment drinking evidenced differential response to the experimenta l manipulations: The treatment enhancements (life skills and booster sessio ns) led to significantly improved drinking outcomes among women who were he avier drinkers at pretreatment. There were no significant effects of the tr eatment enhancements among lighter drinkers at pretreatment. The results pr ovide support for use of treatment enhancements in interventions designed t o moderate women problem drinkers' alcohol use.