Providing access to socially mediated reinforcement in AOD treatment: Effects on recovery-oriented behaviour in community alcohol and other drug treatment

Abstract

Reinforcement-based interventions are effective in AOD treatment, but many rely on resource-intensive procedures or abstinence-based contingencies. This study examined whether increasing access to clinician-delivered socially mediated reinforcement (SMR) between counselling sessions was associated with behaviour consistent with recovery within a community AOD service. A non-concurrent multiple-baseline-across-participants design was used with five taiohi ages 18 to 23 years receiving community AOD counselling in Aotearoa NZ. Participants received one personalised, noncontingent supportive message each week during the intervention phase. Recovery goal engagement was the primary outcome, with session attendance and ADOM scores examined as secondary measures. Visual data analysis did not demonstrate a functional relationship between SMR and the outcome measures. However, some participants showed increases in recovery progress, goal engagement, and treatment attendance that were maintained across treatment. Participant disengagement and missing data limited the interpretation of results. Findings support further investigation of SMR within community AOD settings.