Early Intervention to Reduce Alcohol Misuse and Abuse in the Ohio Army National Guard
Abstract: The proposed project is a fully-powered randomized controlled trial of a smartphone-based alcohol brief intervention (SP-BI) versus an Enhanced Usual Care (EUC) condition for National Guard members in the State of Ohio who meet criteria for at-risk drinking in the previous 4 months. After tailoring the content of the SP-BI intervention for NG soldiers, the proposed study will screen ~ 3,100 individuals over the three year enrollment period as part of the larger ongoing longitudinal assessment of ONG members in the OHARNG MHI, to identify 750 participants with at-risk drinking. These ONG members will be randomized to either the SP-BI (n=375) or the EUC condition (n=375) and followed for one year.
Abstract: Objective: The present study is a retrospective quasi-experimental study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Warrior PATHH (WP) program at improving posttraumatic growth (PTG) outcomes and reducing PTSD symptoms compared to a waitlist control among a sample of Veterans. Method: Participants (n = 164) were U.S. military Veterans with a history of trauma. Participants were either undergoing the Warrior PATHH program or a waitlist. Primary outcome measures were administered at baseline and at 90-day follow-up and consisted of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory – Expanded (PTGI-X) and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Secondary outcome measures assessed psychosocial functioning and included measures of depression and anxiety symptoms, sleep, wellbeing, and social support. Results: Significant differences were observed between groups on the PTGI-X (F(1, 205) = 23.667, p < .001, partial η2 = 0.103), and the PCL-5 (F(1, 205) = 262.460, p < .001, partial η2 = 0.561) with the WP group showing significant positive psychological change following a traumatic event as measured by the PTGI-X and decreased PTSD symptoms as measured by the PCL-5 compared to those in the waitlist condition. Those in the treatment arm also demonstrated gains to psychosocial functioning. Conclusions: Consistent with previous research, participants in the Warrior PATHH program exhibited significant increases in PTG outcomes, decreased PTSD symptoms, and broad improvements to psychosocial functioning. These findings suggest it is an effective training program to foster PTG outcomes among Veterans. This study is unique as it is the first to compare the effects of WP programming with a sample of waitlisted Veterans.