Health: Study finds a slow strategy may help people with alcohol use disorder

Washington [US]: A team of researchers has found that modifying the time perspective of people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) may improve their recoveries. The study has been published in the 'Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research Journal'.

Alcohol use disorder creates an estimated economic burden of USD 249 billion every year with more than 15 million adults in the U.S. coping with alcohol use disorder, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. "By focusing on decision-making and adding the perspective of evolutionary biology, we've taken a fresh approach that is showing us ways to predict how an individual would experience recovery," said Warren Bickel, the Virginia Tech Carilion Behavioral Health Research professor and director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute's Addiction Recovery Research Center and its Center for Health Behaviors Research.

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Virginia Tech scientists examined alcohol use disorder recovery in 110 adults who had met the criteria for alcohol abuse and dependence in the International Quit and Recovery Registry, an online data collection site and forum developed at Virginia Tech in 2011. People with "slow life-history" strategies were more focused on future rewards and personal growth. They exhibited positive economic, health, and personal development behaviours. They were more likely to be in remission from alcohol use disorder.

People with "fast life-history" strategies were more focused on immediate rewards and showed comparatively reduced concern for personal health. Researchers suspected people with alcohol use disorder who exhibit faster life-history strategies may face greater challenges during recovery. (ANI)

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