U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE

Public Health Service • Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration
Behavioral Analysis

and Treatment of

Substance Abuse

Editor:

Norman A. Krasnegor, Ph.D.

NIDA Research Monograph 25

June 1979

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE

Public Health Service

Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration

National Institute on Drug Abuse

Division of Research

5600 Fishers Lane

Rockville, Maryland 20857

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Washington, D.C. 20402

Stock No. 017-024-00939-3
The NIDA Research Monograph series is prepared by the Division of Research of

the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Its primary objective is to provide critical reviews of research problem areas and techniques, the content of state-of-the-art

conferences, integrative research reviews and significant original research. Its

dual publication emphasis is rapid and targeted dissemination to the scientific

and professional community.

Editorial Advisory Board

Avram Goldstein, M.D.

Addiction Research Foundation

Palo Alto, California

Jerome Jaffe, M.D.

College of Physicians and Surgeons

Columbia University, New York

Reese T. Jones, M.D.

Langley Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute

University of California

San Francisco, California

William McGlothlin, Ph.D.

Department of Psychology, UCLA

Los Angeles, California

Jack Mendelson, M.D.

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Center

Harvard Medical School

McLean Hospital

Belmont, Massachusetts

Helen Nowlis, Ph.D.

Office of Drug Education. DHEW

Washington, DC.

Lee Robins, Ph.D.

Washington University School of Medicine

St. Louis, Missouri

NIDA Research Monograph series

William Pollin, M.D.

DIRECTOR, NIDA

Marvin Snyder, Ph.D.

ACTING DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF RESEARCH, NIDA

Robert C. Petersen, Ph.D.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Eleanor W. Waldrop

MANAGING EDITOR

Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857
Behavioral Analysis and

Treatment of Substance Abuse
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This monograph is based on papers presented at a technical review conducted by Plog Research, Inc., Reseda,

California, under NIDA Contract No. 271-77-3413.

The conference took place on September 14 and 15, 1978,

in Reston, Virginia.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse has obtained

permission from the copyright holders to reproduce

certain previously published material as noted in

the text. Further reproduction of this material

is prohibited without specific permission of the

copyright holders. 411 other material, except

short quoted passages from copyrighted sources,

is in the public domain and may be used and reprinted without permission. Citation as to source

is appreciated.

The U.S. Government does not endorse or favor any

specific commercial product or commodity. Trade

or proprietary names appearing in this publication

are used only because they are considered essential

in the context of the studies reported herein.

Library of Congress catalog card number 79-600111

DHEW publication number (AIM) 79-839

Printed 1979

NIDA Research Monographs are indexed in the Index

Medicus. They are selectively included in the

coverage of Biosciences Information Service, Chemical

Abstracts, Psychological Abstracts, and Psychopharmacology Abstracts.

i v
Foreword

Substance abuse, including tobacco use and overeating as well as

more “traditional” drug and alcohol abuse, is a concept increasingly

central to the concerns of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The

addictive disorders which often result from such abuse are accountable for an enormous share of this nation’s burden of illness and

premature death. Cigarette smoking takes by far the largest toll,

with excessive use of, alcohol ranking second; a smaller number of

deaths is related to use of other psychoactive drugs and to overeating. Over a quarter of last year’s total of 1.9 million deaths

in this country are conservatively attributable to these disorders.

Evidence increasingly suggests that the substance abuse concept is a

useful one, that the behavioral patterns involved are basically and

not just superficially related. Most individuals involved in any

of these behaviors are aware of the negative consequences, frequently

would like to alter their behavior, and are unable to do so. These

disorders are notoriously difficult to treat, with high attrition

during treatment, and high rates of relapse to use, remarkably consistent from substance to substance.

Behavioral treatment programs have proliferated in recent years, more

rapidly in some areas, such as obesity and smoking, than in others,

such as treatment of heroin addiction; already, prematurely, they

tend to fall into fairly standard patterns. Results have been mixed.

Often the programs appear to show considerable success, especially

in the short run. Yet effective and replicable treatments remain

elusive, and little is known of the processes involved in the therapies themselves or in the behaviors they are intended to modify.

This monograph is one product of NIDA’s recognition of the importance

of the substance abuse concept. It presents a variety of views on

both methods of behavioral treatment and the all-important analysis

of the addictive behaviors which must provide a foundation for improved theory and treatment strategies. Accomplishments of research

completed and underway and needs for future investigation are discussed.

The goal of all this research is, of course, to improve therapeutic

outcomes and eventually to reverse the disturbing increase in preventable illnesses resulting from use of psychoactive substances.

To this end, researchers are seeking to tease out the elements of

those behaviors which form the antecedents, concomitants, and consequences of substance abuse. Multiple types of factors are involved:

v
affective, biochemical, cognitive, behavioral, situational, and physiological factors at a minimum, and the mix cannot be assumed to be

the same for every person. There is need for greater individualization of both treatment goals and treatment methods. For some individuals, the goal may be to regulate rather than totally to suppress the

substance use.

The urgency of work on long term maintenance of desired treatment

outcomes is being recognized in this area where relapse is the rule.

Variables determining adherence to treatment regimens also are beginning to be investigated. More stringent controls and more reliable

measures are coming to be used in this research. In the past, understandably, “Let’s see what seems to work” has often been the basis for

adoption of treatment components. In seeking optimal interventions,

the necessary and sufficient conditions for effecting and maintaining

changes in addictive behaviors are being explored. Components of the

treatment "package," which typically includes strategies to provide

social support, cognitive restructuring, and development of coping

skills, need to be separately tested and evaluated.

It is our hope and expectation that as the base of knowledge about

substance abuse behavior expands, there will be a clearer view of

what the important theoretical and practical issues are, and better

treatment outcomes will follow. This monograph is offered as part

of NIDA’s effort in that direction.

William Pollin

Director

National Institute on Drug Abuse

vi
Contents

Foreword

William Pollin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

Chapter 1 Introduction

Noman A. Krasnegor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Part I. DRUGS

Chapter 2 The Effects of Delayed Rewards, Social Pressure, and

Frustration on the Responses of Opiate Addicts

Charles J. Wallace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Chapter 3 Naltrexone and Behavior Therapy for Heroin Addiction

Richard A. Rawson, Michael Glazer, Edward J. Callahan,

and Robert Paul Liberman . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Chapter 4 A Behavioral Program for Treatment of Drug Dependence

Roy Pickens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Chapter 5 The Abstinence Phobia

Sharon M. Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Chapter 6 Reinforcement of Drug Abstinence: A Behavioral

Approach to Drug Abuse Treatment

Maxine L. Stitzer, George E. Bigelow, and Ira Liebson . . 68

Part II. CIGARETTE SMOKING

Chapter 7 An Overview of Smoking Behavior and its Modification

Terry F. Pechacek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Chapter 8 Social Learning, Smoking, and Substance Abuse

Edward Lichtenstein . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Chapter 9 Controlled Smoking

Lee W. Frederiksen . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Chapter 10 Commonalities in the Treatment and Understanding of

Smoking and Other Self-Management Disorders

Ovide F. Pomerleau . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

vii
Part III. ETHANOL

Chapter 11 Problem Drinking and Substance Abuse: Behavioral

Perspectives

William R. Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Chapter 12 Studies in Blood Alcohol Level Discrimination:

Etiologic Cues to Alcoholism

Peter E. Nathan and Thomas R. Lipscomb . . . . . . . 178

Chapter 13 A Cognitive-Behavioral Model of the Relapse Process

G. Alan Marlatt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Part IV. OBESITY

Chapter 14 Current Status of Behavioral Treatment of Obesity

G. Terence Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Chapter 15 Obesity and Adherence to Behavioral Programs

Kelly D. Brownell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Chapter 16 Obesity Treatment Reexamined: The Case for a More

Tentative and Experiment al Approach

Susan C. Wooley, Orland K. Wooley, and Susan R.

Dyrenforth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Technical Review Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

List of Monographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

viii
Chapter 1

Introduction

Norman A. Krasnegor, Ph.D.

This monograph is the fifth in a series of related works published

by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. These Research Monographs

(Nos. 17, 18, 20, 23, and 25) address different aspects of an

emerging area of research on what we call substance abuse. The

term encompasses four behavioral patterns: overeating, cigarette

smoking, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse. From the public health

point of view, these four lifestyle factors form a set because

epidemiologists have implicated then in the etiology of the major

chronic diseases in the United States. Thus substance abuse behavior has been shown to contribute significantly to the onset of

cardiovascular, pulmonary, hepatic, and neoplastic disease and

impacts importantly upon health care and associated costs to our

society.

The above-stated definition is a descriptive one based upon a

public health perspective. Fran the scientific and operational

viewpoints, a question of great importance is whether these four

behavioral patterns can be shown to be related empirically. That

is, can one demonstrate experimentally that there are fundamental

principles which underpin these four consumatory behaviors and

thus provide a data-based rationale for grouping them as a set?

Toward this end, NIDA supports the Committee on Substance Abuse and

Habitual Behavior of the National Research Council. The mandate of

this committee is to analyze the existing data in different scientific disciplines across the four domains of drug abuse, overeating,

cigarette smoking, and alcohol abuse, and synthesize this information in order to identify empirically derived commonalities.

In addition, NIDA has begun to organize the scientific research data

on the behavioral aspects of substance abuse. The present monograph

is a product of this effort. The papers contained in it are based

on presentations made at a NIDA-sponsored conference held in Reston,

Virginia, in September 1978. The conference was designed to bring

together a group of scientists who are working in the area of

substance abuse treatment and to produce a monograph which could

1
serve as a focus for examining what has been done and as a stimulus

for generating new research ideas.

A basic assumption inherent in the papers presented in this monograph is that substance abuse is learned, and the mechanisms which

govern the usage patterns observed are fundamentally the same. A

logical extension of this premise is that a valid understanding of

the necessary and sufficient conditions which lead to the acquisition and maintenance of substance use and abuse can be obtained

through a scientific analysis which employs the principles of

operant and respondent conditioning. Once this assumption is employed as a point of departure, a research strategy for studying

substance abuse can be derived from the established tactics of the

experimental analysis of behavior and applied behavior analysis.

Briefly, this approach posits that behavior is an observed activity

of an organism. The behavior is held to have a finite probability

of occurrence whose expression is functionally related to and

dependent upon two features of the organism's environment. These

are termed, respectively, antecedents and consequents. This triad

(antecedents, behaviors, and consequents) forms the essential unit

for carrying out an experimental analysis of behavior and is the

fundamental. building block for the design of behavioral treatment.

A behavioral analysis of substance abuse conceives of drugs, food,

cigarettes, and alcohol as powerful reinforcers. The principles

of operant and Pavlovian conditioning are employed by scientists

and clinicians to study how these reinforcers come to exert control

over behavior and to design effective treatment for these behavioral

disorders.

The monograph is divided into four parts. 'Drugs are the subject of

Part One. A set of experiments to measure behavioral aspects of

the "addictive personality" is detailed by Dr. Charles Wallace.

The use of behavior therapy in connection with narcotic antagonist

therapy is presented in chapter 3, by Dr. Richard Rawson and his

colleagues. Dr. Roy Pickens, from the University of Minnesota,

describes the behavioral program employed by him and his coworkers

at his inpatient facility. A behavioral analysis of methadone

detoxification failures based upon the concept of anxiety and a

behavioral method to treat this problem are outlined by Dr. Sharon

Hall in her paper entitled, 'The Abstinence Phobia." The final

chapter in part One presents data collected by Dr. Maxine Stitzer

and her colleagues at Baltimore City Hospital. She provides an

account of her research on the use of contingency management to

achieve abstinence from drug use and includes discussions of

methodological, conceptual, and practical issues in this research

domain.

Part Two comprises four papers on research issues related to cigarette smoking. Dr. Terry Pechacek's paper on modification of

smoking behavior presents an informative overview of the research

on the behavioral methods employed to achieve cessation. The paper

by Dr. Edward Lichtenstein reviews the relevance of social learning

2
for cigarette smoking and relates this concept to the field of

substance abuse treatment research. Methodological, conceptual,

and treatment issues are also discussed. Dr. Lee Fredericksen's

paper entitled "Controlled Smoking" provides a review of his contributions utilizing this approach to treat cigarette smoking.

The final paper is authored by Dr. Ovide Pomerleau, who has been

intimately involved in the behavioral analysis and treatment of

substance abuse in his role as director of the Behavioral Medicine

Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania. His exposition on the

commonalities inherent in substance abuse behavior Puts into focus

many of the treatment and research issues germane to this field

of inquiry.

Part Three is devoted to papers on alcohol abuse. Dr. William

Miller's paper details his and others' work on behavioral treatment

of problem drinkers. The work of Drs. Peter Nathan and Thomas

Lipscomb shows how psychophysical methods can be applied to

elucidate ethanol blood level discrimination deficits in alcoholics.

The paper by Dr. G. Alan Marlatt presents an overview of abstinence

across the various types of substance abuse and suggests a cognitive behavioral model which can guide research designed to determine

how to maintain abstinence once it has been achieved.

In Part Four, three papers deal with the topic of obesity. Dr.

Terence Wilson provides an extensive review of the literature and

discusses conceptual and therapeutic issues related to the behavioral treatment of obesity. The work of Dr. Kelly Brownell focuses

on a central issue in treatment, that of compliance, and how such

adherence problems affect treatment success. The final paper, by

Dr. Susan Wooley, presents a provocative series of counter-intuitive,

data-based findings concerning obesity that should change the way

we conceive of this behavioral disorder.

I am extremely pleased that the National Institute on Drug Abuse

has taken the lead in developing the knowledge base in the field

of substance abuse. It is our hope that this and other NIDA

Research Monographs will serve as both a reference and a basis for

further inquiry in this field of biobehavioral research which is so

directly relevant to the public health.

3

Part I Drugs
Chapter 2

The Effects of Delayed Rewards,

Social Pressure, and Frustration on

the Responses of Opiate Addicts

Charles J. Wallace, Ph.D.

In the search for factors that may influence the etiology and maintenance

of opiate addiction, two viewpoints have prevailed. One posits that

addiction is a learned behavior and the appropriate methodology for

studying addiction is the same as that used for studying any learned

behavior (Lynch, Stein, & Fertziger 1976; Wikler & Pescor 1967; Woods

& Schuster 1971). The other posits that addiction is an "abnormal"

behavior whose etiology and maintenance can be explained by reference

to personality variables such as insecurity, poor self-esteem, and

sociopathy. The appropriate research methodology is that of general

personality theories: group studies that use as dependent variables

responses to interviews and personality tests such as the Minnesota

Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI).

It is this latter view which seem to have been dominant in both research

and treatment. The thrust of numerous investigations of opiate addiction

has been to delineate differences between addicts and nonaddicts using

standard personality tests (e.g., Rorschach, TAT, MMPI, 16PF, I-E scale,

EPPS, CPI)1 or questionnaires developed strictly for use with addicts

(Cavior, Kurtzberg & Lipton 1967: Monroe &Hill 1958: Haertzen et al.

1970; Resnick, Fink & Freedman 1970; Haertzen & Hooks 1969). Sane

authors (Sutker 1971; Gilbert & Lombardi 1967) propose that there is a

unique constellation of personality characteristics that predisposes

an individual to addiction. Others propose that addiction is part of

a general sociopathic disorder with characteristics that are shared in

by all individuals who engage in proscribed behaviors (Platt 1975; Gendreau & Gendreau 1970, 1971, 1973). The evidence is contradictory;

several studies have found differences between addicts and other deviant

groups (e.g., Kurtines, Hogan &Weiss 1975, Sutker 1971; Sheppard et al.

1975) while other studies found no differences when variables such as

age, IQ, education, and marital status were controlled (Platt 1975;

Gendreau & Gendreau 1970, 1971, 1973; Sutker & Allain 1973).

Irrespective of any solution to the issue of addiction "proneness," the

results of these studies have been used to speculate about the components

of an effective treatment program for addicts. For example, Kurtines.

Hogan & Weiss (1975), based on results indicating low scores for addicts

on the Socialization and Responsibility scales of the CPI, suggested

6
that "rehabilitation procedures for addicts might be more profitably

concerned with values and personal responsiblity than with social

effectiveness or a sense of personal worth" (page 89). Berzins et al.

(1974), using a sophisticated clustering technique with MMPI scores,

identified two subgroups of addicts and predicted that their Type I

patients (peaks on 4, 8, and 2 for females and 2, 4, and 8 for males)

would be more responsive to therapeutic techniques, particularly

those that involve peer pressure.

The usefulness of these speculations rests on the assumptions that the

tests validly measure those personality characteristics enumerated by

the authors and that these characteristics predict different behaviors

in different treatment methods. Neither assumption is well supported;

indeed, there is very little data exploring the relationship between

"personality characteristics" and the behavior of addicts. The

objective of this research is to explore that relationship by determining

if opiate addicts can be distinguished from nonaddicts on the basis of

three "personality characteristics" using as dependent measures specific,

quantifiable behaviors. The three "personality characteristics" are:

delay of gratification, susceptibility to peer pressure, and expression

of aggression. These three were chosen because they have been

frequently mentioned as being important in the etiology and treatment

of addiction.

It has frequently been hypothesized that addicts are either unable to

delay gratification of their interpersonal and material needs, or that

they lack sufficient behavioral skills to obtain gratification (Torda

1968; Dohner 1972; Fort 1954; Sharoff 1969). Laskowitz (1965) has

speculated that addicts act as if there were only a "here and now."

Pittel (1971) has indicated that both abusers of opiates and abusers

of psychedelics can be characterized as immature and impulsive, engaging

in long term relationships only to satisfy their own needs. Ranbolt

and Bratten (1974) describe the addict as hedonistically seeking

instantaneous gratification, while Winslow, Hankins, and Strachan (1977)

note that addicts seek the immediate gratification available with drugs.

There is some evidence derived from questionnaire and interview responses

that supports this hypothesis. Many studies have found that addicts have

an elevated score on the Pd scale of the MMPI. This presumably reflects

their sociopathic traits, a major component of which is impulsivity and

the inability to delay gratification (Berzins et al. 1974; Sutker 1971;

Astin 1959; Gilbert & Lombardi 1967; Olson 1964). Hekimian and Gershon

(1968) diagnosed 68 percent of narcotic addicts newly admitted to a

psychiatric hospital as sociopathic. This was considerably more than

the incidence of sociopathy for amphetamine or hallucinogen users, who

were most frequently diagnosed as schizophrenic. Torda (1968), using a

three hundred item biographical questionnaire, found that male heroin

addicts, in contrast to matched nonaddict controls, described themselves

as never having learned the skills necessary for gratification.

However, Sutker & Allain (1973) and Hill, Haertzen, & Davis (1962) found

no differences on the Pd scale when incarcerated addicts who have been

drug free for at least two years are compared to nonaddict prisoners.

Both groups score within normal limits on all clinical scales of the MMPI,

indicating that the presumed sociopathy differences may reflect the

immediate effects of attempting to secure drugs on the "street" rather

than enduring personality differences. Corroborative evidence has also

7
been found by Haertzen and Hooks (1969) in a longitudinal study of

prisoners who volunteered to become chronic morphine users in a controlled

setting. Repeated administration of the MMPI indicated that there were

no variations in the Pd scale in either chronic use or withdrawal phases.

The second frequent hypothesis is that addicts are susceptible to pressure

from peers to begin and continue taking drugs (Fort 1954: Sharoff 1969;

Dohner 1972; Hekimian & Gershon 1968; Sheppard et al. 1972). For example.

Dohner (1972) has indicated that the influence of friends was a major

reason for the addiction of over one-half of a sample of Chicano addicts

he interviewed. Hekimian & Gershon (1968) found similar figures,

particularly in reference to marijuana usage. Sheppard et al. (1972)

point out that a major component of the MMPI-derived heroin addiction

scale (Cavior, Kurtzberg & Lipton 1967) is loyalty to a small group of

heroin-addicted peers. Laskowitz (1965) has proposed that the heroin

addict associates with a limited number of peers (two or three) with

whom he can share both the risks and rewards of addiction and who, in

effect, provide social reinforcement for continuing addiction. Fort

(1954) has indicated that the use of drugs allows entrance into a group

bound by a common ritual, language, and code of behavior. Winslow,

Hankins, and Strachan (1972) postulate that peer presure and acceptance

is the major reason for etiology and maintenance of addiction.

The supporting evidence for the social pressure hypothesis comes principally from responses to interviews such as those used by Dohner (1972).

A few experiments have been performed to test the social pressure hypothesis, and the results have been equivocal. Diamond (1956) compared the

responses of adolescent heroin addicts and nonaddict schizophrenics to

an Asch type group pressure situation. Results indicated that schizophrenics were not influenced by group pressure, while addicts were influenced. A normal control group would have helped considerably in interpreting these results. Singer (1962) used the Rod and Frame Test to compare the responsiveness to environmental influences of adolescent heroin

addicts and matched delinquent and nondelinquent controls. He found no

differences. Haertzen and Hooks (1969), in their longitudinal study of

chronic morphine use, found that chronic use was associated with a withdrawal from social activityand greater irritation and boredom withothers.

The third frequent hypothesis is that aggression is a critical factor

in opiate use. There are, however, two rather different views of the

relationship between addiction and aggression. It has been suggested

that addiction represents a direct expression of aggression toward

authority figures and a rebellion against rules and authority (Smith

1973; Dohner 1972; Sheppard et al. 1972; Winslow, Hankins & Strachan

1972). Smith's (1973) results, based on personality inventories and

questionnaires administered annually to 15,000 Boston school children,

indicate that the best predictor of future drug use in a sample of fourth

grade to twelfth grade students is rebelliousness to authority figures.

The more rebellious, the greater the potential for the later use of drugs.

Dohner (1972) has indicated that adolescents may begin the use of drugs

as "part of the need to defy societal or parental authority" (page 321).

Sheppard et al. (1972) have indicated that one of the major factors of

the MMPI-derived heroin addiction scale concerns feelings of resentment

to authority figures and an enjoyment of flouting the rules.

On the other hand, it has been suggested that addiction is initiated and

maintained as an escape from the stress generated by aggressive feelings

8
which the addict is unable to express (Torda 1968; Fort 1954; Fischmann

1968). Fort (1954) postulates that the most significant factor in heroin

addiction is "the enormity of the addict's aggression," from which the

addict escapes by using drugs. Torda (1968), based on the results of

a 300-item biographical questionnaire, proposes that the addict dreads

the expression of aggression and injects heroin as a relief from the

panic that such dread elicits. Fischmann (1958) views narcotics in

particular as an avoidance of aggression.

Laskowitz (1965) has suggested that the relationship between aggression

and addiction may be different for different types of addicts. Laskowitz

proposes that, for one type, drug injection acts as a cue for the

expression of anger which would otherwise not be admitted. For another

type, drug use may decrease almost constant feelings of anger and irritability. Reith, Crockett, and Craig (1975) found that addicts have both

high aggressivity and a high need for succorance as measured by the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule. They note that these are contradictory needs, involving a conflict that would be extremely difficult to resolve.

In spite of this mass of findings there is a dearth of evidence that

relates these interview and questionnaire responses to behavior in a

well-controlled laboratory situation, let alone in more clinically

relevant, less controlled situations. The objective of this research

was to determine if addicts could be differentiated from nonaddict

delinquents and nonaddict nondelinquents on the basis of their behavior

during three experimental tasks. The tasks were designed to measure

the three 'personality characteristics" of ability to delay gratification, susceptibility to social pressure, and ability to cope with

frustration. A second objective was to determine if ethnicity is

a significant predictor of differences in either the questionnaire

responses or in the laboratory behavior. Ethnicity has been given

little attention except for an occasional differential prediction in the

clinical literature (Dohner 1972).

METHOD

Subjects

A total of 45 males and 30 females participated in the procedures. For

both sexes, the participants consisted of 15 nonaddict nondelinquents

and 15 addicts; the male subjects included an additional 15 nonaddict

delinquents. Each group of 15 was composed of 5 Anglos, 5 blacks, and

5 Chicanos.

The addict subjects' participation was solicited on the day of their

admission to a community-based detoxification center. If they agreed

to participate, the procedures were administered at the center on the

fourth and fifth days of their planned 14-day stay.

The nonaddict delinquent males were selected from participants in a

prerelease program at a local state prison, all of whom had been

incarcerated for a minimum of two years. All subjects were classified

as nonaddicts based on two criteria: (1) case records did not indicate

an arrest for an offense involving the use or possession of drugs; (2) a

self-report of not now or in the past having consistently used cocaine,

morphine, heroin, barbiturates, amphetamines, or alcohol for a period

of more than one year.

9

300-345 0 - 79 - 2
The nonaddict nondelinquent subjects were solicited through ads placed

in the local college newspapers and in the newsletter of a local

neuropsychiatric facility. In addition to fulfilling the criteria for

classification as a nonaddict, subjects were classified as nondelinquent

based on their self-report of not having been arrested for more than a

misdemeanor, nondrug-related traffic offense.

The originial sampling plan had specified that nonaddict delinquents

would be selected from the rolls of local probationers and from enrollees

in a work furlough program operated by the local probation department.

However, an inspection of the case records indicated that approximately

95 percent of the potential subjects had been convicted of drug use as

a primary or secondary offense. Officials of the probation department

further indicated that probably more than 95 percent were currently using

drugs. They suggested that the only delinquents not involved in drug

use might be those individuals who had been incarcerated because of

relatively serious offenses. Officials of the state prison system were

contacted and, although they endorsed the project, no administrator of a

prison for female offenders would allow recruitment of subjects. The

only administrator of a prison for male offenders to agree to solicitation

of subjects restricted recruitment to prerelease prisoners.

Procedures

The procedures were administered in two sessions. For the first session,

subjects were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire plus several

personality tests including the MMPI-168, the Emotions Profile Index

(EPI), the Self Control (SC) and the Socialization (So) scales of the

California Psychological Inventory (CPI), the Slosson IQ test, the Institute for Personality and Aptitude Testing (IPAT) Anxiety Test, and

the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Subjects were given the

standard written instructions for each test; questions were answered

by referring subjects to the relevant sections of the instructions.

For the second session, which was generally administered on the following day, subjects participated in three tasks designed to test the

hypotheses of the project. Al three tasks were operationalized using

a custom-built human test console controlled by a minicomputer (PDP8-A).

The console, which was 24" x 21" x 23", was placed on a desk, with

subjects seated directly in front of it. The console consisted of

several different manipulanda, reinforcement dispensers, and stimulus

display devices.

After subjects were acclimated to the testing situation, they were

administered Task 1. The task provided subjects with 30 choices between

a small, inmediately delivered reward and a larger, delayed reward. The

small reward was a nickel, which was dispensed as soon as the subjects

made their choices. The delayed reward was a token which was eventually

exchanged for a dime. The token was dispensed as soon as the subjects

made their choices; the exchange was delayed until 10 days after completion

of the session. Subjects indicated their choices by pulling one of two

Lindsley manipulanda. The relationship between the manipulanda and the

rewards alternated from trial to trial so that pulling one manipulandum

dispensed a nickel on one trial, and a token on the next trial, with the

opposite relationship in effect for the other manipulandum. To inform

subjects of the alternation, discriminative stimuli were used such that

10
a red light signaled one relationship between manipulanda and rewards

and a white light signaled the opposite relationship. Subjects not only

read detailed instructions about the alternation, but they were reminded

of the relationships by labels placed just above each manipulandum.

Completion of the first task generally took from 7.5 to 10 minutes; subjects

then participated in the second task, which operationalized the social

pressure conditions. The task was a modified Asch task in which subjects

were asked to select from four vertical lines the one they thought

matched a vertical line they had just viewed. 'The four vertical lines

and a standard line were presented on slides projected onto a 3.75" x

3.75" rear projection screen located on the console immediately in front

of the subjects. The slide of the standard line was exposed for 7

seconds followed by presentation of the slide of the four lines, which

was not-removed from view until subjects made their choices. Unlike

the Asch task, the four lines were drawn so that there was no correct

choice and the difference between the lines was extremely small (a

maximum of 1/32" when the lines were drawn to a scale of 8" long). There

were forty different pairs of standard and choice slides; pretesting

indicated that, for all pairs of slides, no one alternative was chosen

significantly more often than would be expected on the basis of chance

responding (25 percent).

Two independent variables were implemented within this paradigm, and

all subjects participated in all levels of both variables. One variable

was the mount of social pressure. Subjects were told that the task

required an extremely difficult perceptual discrimination and, to assist

them, they would be given the answers of four other subjects who had

previously taken the test and who had presumably agreed to make their

answers known. The answers were displayed on a 4 x 4 matrix of lights

which was placed just above the rear projection screen. There were

four levels of social pressure: all four of the others presumably

agreed on one alternative; three of the others agreed on one alternative

but the fourth disagreed; two of the others agreed on one answer

with the other two disagreeing with the first two and between

themselves; no two of the four agreed on one answer. Subjects

indicated their answers by pressing one of four pushbuttons located

just above the 4 x 4 matrix of lights. Of the forty sets of slides,

ten were presented under each level of social pressure.

The other variable was type of social pressure, i.e., answers presumably

left by peers and answers presumably left by nonpeers. To operationalize

these two conditions, subjects viewed video tapes in which the four who

had left their answers gave brief descriptions of themselves. For the

peer condition, subjects viewed same sex and ethnicity confederates who,

depending upon the subject's classification, described themselves as

either going to college (nonaddict, nondelinquent), in trouble with the

law but not using drugs (nonaddict, delinquent), or in trouble with the

law and using opiates (addicts). The same confederates, who ranged

in age from 21 to 28, were used for all variations.

For the nonpeer condition, all subjects regardless of sex, ethnicity,

or classification, viewed a tape of two nurses, a businessman, and a

research sociologist briefly describing themselves and their jobs.

Subjects viewed one of the tapes and then responded to the forty sets

of slides; after a 5 minute break, they viewed the remaining tape and

11
responded to the same forty sets of slides which had been duplicated and

arranged in another slide tray in a different order.

Completion of the second task took from 40 to 60 minutes. Subjects

were given a 15-minute break and then administered the third task,

which gave them the opportunity to earn money at the rate of one

cent for every five pulls on one of the Lindsley manipulanda. The

money that subjects earned was displayed on a three-digit counter

which was placed in the middle of the console at approximately eye

level. The task was divided into four time periods: two during

which the subjects earned money (reinforcement) and two during

which the pulls did not result in earning (extinction). The phases

were of different duration and were arranged so that the task began

with 202 seconds of reinforcement followed by 160 seconds of

extinction, followed by 181 seconds of reinforcement ending with

132 seconds of extinction. Subjects were not informed of the

alternation of conditions, but they were told that there was nothing

wrong with the machine even though it might seem as if there was

a malfunction. At an average of 12 seconds, with a range of from

3 to 26 seconds, a sonalert on the console was sounded which emitted

an unpleasantly loud noise (4000Hz, 86db at 1 meter). Subjects

could terminate the noise either by pressing a pushbutton switch

or by hitting a palm switch which had been modified to resemble a

"punching bag." The palm switch had been covered with a leather

pouch stuffed with foam rubber, and the original spring had been

replaced with a relatively stiff mattress coil. Thus, subjects

could terminate the aversive noise either by a response whose

topography was "aggressive" or by a response whose topography was

"nonaggressive."

At the end of the third task, subjects provided a urine sample for

analysis. The data for any subject whose analysis indicated the

presence of any morphine-based drug was eliminated. Two subjects'

data were so eliminated and replaced by new subjects. All subjects

were paid $10 in cash for their participation plus the money earned

in Task 3 and the nickels chosen in Task 1. Arrangements were made

to exchange the tokens chosen in Task 1.

RESULTS

Personality Test

Males. To analyze the results of the male subjects' personalty

tests, raw scores for each scale of each test were analyzed using

a completely randomized factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) with two

independent variables; subject status with three levels (addict, nonaddict

delinquent, nonaddict nondelinquent), and ethnicity with three levels

(Anglo, black, and Chicano). A significant main effect of either status

or ethnicity was further analyzed using Tukey's HSD test. A

significant interaction was analyzed using a test of simple main

effects followed by a Tukey's HSD test to analyze the significant

simple main effects.

12
Table 1 summarizes the outcomes of these analyses for the main effect

of subject status.

TABLE 1

Means of raw scores and significant differences between

groups for male subjects.

13
Table 1. Continued

a= significant difference between addicts and nonaddict nondelinquents

b= significant difference between addicts and nonaddict delinquents

c= significant difference between nonaddict delinquents and

nonaddict nondelinquents

Figure 1 depicts the MMPI profiles for the three groups. The

differences between the addicts and nonaddict nondelinquents were

generally in accord with the differences found in other studies.

However, the only significant differences between the nonaddict

delinquents and the nonaddict nondelinquents were that the latter

group2scored lower on the Pt and SC scales and higher on the L

scale of the MMPI-168. These results are similar to those

reported by Hill et al. (1962) and Sutker and Allain (1973) for

prisoners who had been incarcerated for at least two years.

The results for the So scale of the CPI indicate that the nonaddict

nondelinquents Were relatively low in socialization (high in

delinquency) by comparison to the appropriate normative samples.

However, the mean score matches closely the mean score reported by

Kurtines et al. (1975) for self-professed, undergraduate marijuana

users.

Ethnicity was a significant factor in the results of four Scales.

Specifically, Anglos scored significantly higher than Chicanos

on the STAI State Anxiety scale and significantly lower than Chicanos

on the So and SC scales of the CPI and on the L scale of the MMPI-168,

with no significant differences between blacks and Anglos or between

blacks and Chicanos.

14
FIGURE 1

There was only one significant interaction. For the Anglo subjects

on the Ma scale2 of the MMPI-168, nonaddict delinquents scored

significantly lower than either the addicts or the nonaddict

nondelinquents with no differences between the later two groups.

For the black and Chicano subjects, there were no significant

differences among the three groups.

1 5
Females: The same completely randomized factorial ANOVAs were used

to analyze the results of the female subjects' personality tests, except

that the independent variable of subject status consisted of only two

levels (addict and nonaddict nondelinquent). Table 2 summarizes the

outcomes of these analyses for the main effect of subject status.

TABLE 2

Means of raw scores and significant differences between groups for

female subjects.

* = significant difference between the two groups

16
FIGURE 2

Figure 2 depicts the MMPI profiles for the two groups. As with the males,

the differences between the two groups were in accord with differences

found in other studies. Corroborating the results for the male subjects,

significant differences were found between the two groups of female

subjects for all scales on which significant differences were found

among the three groups of male subjects (except for the L scale). In

addition, differences between the two groups of female subjects were

found on the C scale of the IPAT Anxiety Test and the K, F, and Pa

scales of the MMPI-168 with the addicts scoring in a more pathological

direction than the nonaddict nondelinquents.

Ethnicity was a significant factor only for IQ with blacks scoring

significantly lower than either Anglos or Chicanos with no significant

differences between the latter two. There were no significant interactions.

17
Task 1

The dependent variable was the number of choices of the delayed reward.

Results were analyzed separately for the male and female subjects using

the same completely randomized factorial ANOVAs as those used to analyze

the results of the personality tests. The outcomes of these analyses

are presented in Table 3 and indicate that for both males (F(2, 36) = 6.94,

p < .01) and females (F(1, 24) = 4.75, p < .05), addicts chose significantly

fewer delayed rewards than either nonaddict delinquents or nonaddict

nondelinquents. Neither ethnicity nor the interaction between status

and ethnicity was significant. Although females chose fewer delayed

rewards than males, the differences were not significant when analyzed

with a completely randomized factorial ANOVA with sex, status, and

ethnicity as the independent variables (F(1, 48) = 2.63, p > .10).

TABLE 3

Mean number of choices of the delayed reward.

Task 2

The dependent variable was the number of times that each subject chose

answers that were in agreement with the majority's answers. The

results were analyzed separately for males and females using split

plot factorial ANOVAs with two between subjects variables (status

and ethnicity) and two within subjects variables (type of social

pressure and amount of social pressure). The analysis for males

resulted in significant main effects for amount of social pressure

(F(2, 72) = 16.49, p < .01) and for type of social pressure (F(1, 36) =

21.21, p < .01) plus a significant interaction between status and type

of pressure (F(2, 36)= 6.86, p <.01). The main effect of amount of

social pressure was further analyzed with a Neuman-Keuls test that

indicated that all subjects agreed least with the majority in the

2-1-1 condition, with a significant increase in agreement in the 3-1

condition, and with another significant increase in the 4-0 condition compared to both the 2-1-1 and the 3-1 condition. The significant interaction of the type of pressure with subject status was analyzed with a test

of simple main effects which indicated that addicts agreed significantly

more often with the nonpeers than with the peers. In contrast, there

were no significant differences between agreement with peers and

nonpeers for either the nonaddict delinquents or the nonaddict nondelinquents. Furthermore, there were no significant differences

between the three groups under the peer pressure condition; in the

nonpeer condition, however, the addicts agreed significantly more

18
often with the majority than either the nonaddict delinquents or

the nonaddict nondelinquents. Tables 4 and 5 present the results

for both male and female subjects.

TABLE 4

Mean number of choices in agreement with the majority

(subject status x type of pressure interaction)

TABLES 5

Mean number of choices in agreement with the majority

(amount of pressure)

The analysis for females resulted in a significant main effect for

amount of social pressure (F(2, 48) = 16.84, p < .01) and for type

of social pressure (F(1, 24) = 13.53) p < .01). The results were

exactly the same as those for the male subjects. The interaction

of subject status with type of pressure was not significant

(F(1, 24) = 3.62, .05 < p <.10), but the trend was the same as that

for male subjects.

19
Task 3

There were two dependent variables: the number of lever pulls per second

and the proportion of presentations of the aversive noise terminated

by the use of the punching bag. The results for each were analzyed

separately for males and females using split plot factorial ANOVA's

with two between-subjects variables (status and ethnicity) and one

within-subject variable (time periods with four levels reflecting the

four Periods of the ABAB, withdrawal design). The results for both males

and females for the proportion of use of the punching bag indicated that

the ANOVA's could not be conducted due to significantly heterogeneous variances (Males, Fmax = 600.00, p < .001, df = 4; females, Fmax = 55.5,

p < .05). Inspection of the individual subjects' results-indicated that

many subjects pressed either the button or the bag, resulting in a set of

binomial scores. In addition, several subjects did not either press

the button or punch the bag to terminate the noise; they simply let

it continue until the task ended. Since these results were considerably

different from those found by Hutchinson and Hake (1970) in their

extinction-induced frustration task, it seemed as though this task

did not properly operationalize the frustration condition, and the

results for the proportions of aggressive responses were not further

analyzed.

The results for the male subjects for the rate of lever pulling

indicated a significant interaction between status and time period

(F (6, 108) = 6.37, p < .01). This was analyzed with a test of simple

main effects which indicated that addicts pulled at a significantly

faster rate than the nonaddict nondelinquents during both the extinction

periods, with the nonaddict delinquents' scores falling in between and

not significantly different from the other two groups. There were no

significant differences between the three groups for either of the

two reinforcement periods. Table 6 presents the response rates

for both male and female subjects across the four time periods.

TABLE 6

Mean rates of lever pull per second

20
The results for the female subjects indicated no significant main

effects or interaction. However, the mean response rates, presented

in Table 6, tend to support the results found with the males. Except

for the first reinforcement period, the addicts pulled at a higher

rate than the nonaddict nondelinquents with the difference approaching

significance on the last extinction period (F (1, 24) = 4.07, .05 < p

<.10).

DISCUSSION

The results of the personality tests indicated that, in comparison

with the findings reported in other studies, the three groups of male

subjects and the two groups of female subjects were relatively typical

of the populations from which they were presumably selected. The

characteristics of the addicts were similar to those reported for

addicts undergoing detoxification (e.g., Haertzen & Hooks 1969).

The characteristics of the nonaddict delinquents were similar to those

reported by Sutker & Allain (1973) for their prisoners who had been

incarcerated for two years and whose scores on the MMPI scales were

within "nomal" limits. The characteristics of the nonaddict.

nondelinquent males were similar to those reported by Kurtines,

Hogan & Weiss (1975) for undergraduate, self-professed marijuana users.

The characteristics of the nonaddict nondelinquent females were all

well within "normal" limits. Thus there did not seen to be any

unique constellation of characteristics that would either confound

the results or make them inapplicable to the general area of the

relationship between personality characteristics and opiate addiction.

The results of Task 1 confirmed the results of the personality tests.

Both male and female addicts chose the immediate reward significantly

more often than the other two groups in spite of the fact that the

delayed reward was scheduled to be delivered fairly soon after the

testing sessions and before the addicts were scheduled to leave the

detoxification center. In addition, since the sessions were conducted

at the center on a daily basis, the addict subjects had frequent casual

contact with the experimenter and could have easily assured themselves

that the exchange would take place. Perhaps different combinations

of the amount of the rewards and the interval of the delay might have

changed these results; however, these are simply task parameters that

should be systematically changed in order to determine their interaction

with subject status. Interestingly, the order of the means of the Sc scale

CPI, which presumably measures impulsivity, were in accord with the

results of Task 1.

The results of Task 2 partially confirmed the results of the personality

tests. All subjects' responses were influenced by the social pressure

manipulation; indeed there was a direct relationship between the

amount of social pressure and the degree of agreement with the majority.

For nonaddict delinquents and nonaddict nondelinquents, this relationship

was the same for pressure given either by peers or by nonpeers. For

male addicts, and to a lesser extent, for female addicts, the effect

of the social pressure was enhanced when nonpeers were the source of

the pressure. Thus, addicts were differentially susceptible to sources

of pressure, but the source to which they were more sensitive was the

opposite of the one that had originally been predicted. The reason

for this contradictory finding may possibly be explained by reference

to the manner in which the task was presented. Subjects were told

2 1
that the task involved a difficult perceptual discrimination. Perhaps

addicts reacted to the nonpeers as though they were experts who might

know the answers better than theirpeers, who, like themselves, were physically distressed while undergoing detoxification and might be perceived

as unlikely to be able to make the required discriminations. 'Thus,

the results seem to indicate that addicts may be susceptible to social

pressure but that the nature of the specific situation may define

the type and source of pressure to which they are susceptible.

Although Task 3 did not properly operationalize the aggression

condition, the results of the rate of responding provide data that

contradict a contention that addicts lack endurance and persistence

(Reith, Crockett, & Craig 1975; Sheppard et al. 1975). For the male

addicts and, to a lesser extent, for female addicts, responding

was equal to that of nonaddict delinquents and nonaddict nondelinquents

during the reinforcement periods and was higher than either of the

other groups during both extinction periods. Rather than indicating a

lack of persistence and endurance, the data corroborate a clinical

observation that, given the "correct" stimulus (e.g., drugs, money)

addicts work as hard and as persistently as anyone else.

The results also indicated that ethnicity was not a significant

factor in either responses to the personality tests or behavior

in the laboratory tasks. The few differences found for ethnicity on

the personality tests for males were not replicated for females, and

no differences were found on the three tasks. Furthermore, no

tentative statement can be made about the effects of addiction per se.

The nonaddict delinquents had been incarcerated for a long enough

period of time that they did not provide a potential control for

the effects of leading the delinquent lifestyle necessary to obtain

drugs. Of course, the conclusions that can be drawn from any

such comparison, including the ones that have been drawn from this

study, have to be tempered in view of the ex post facto methodology.

The objective of this research was to determine if presumed

differences in 'personality characteristics" among addicts, nonaddict

delinquents, and nonaddict nondelinquents would be apparent in

behavior in specific laboratory tasks. The tasks were designed from

a quasi operant perspective; the results indicated that the differences

in characteristics were associated with differences in behavior. The

results also indicated that task characteristics were obviously critical

in influencing behavior. Unfortunately, task characteristics are

often forgotten in the sweeping speculations made about the components

of treatment programs that might remedy deficient "personality

characteristics." Perhaps further studies that define the behavioral

differences between these groups may assist in developing effectiveassessment devices and treatment programs.

22
FOOTNOTES

1. TAT - Thematic Apperception Test

16PF - 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire

I-E scale - Internal-External Locus of Control Scale

EPPS - Edwards Personal Preference Schedule

CPI - California Psychological Inventory

2. Scales of MMPI-168: Pt - Psychasthenia; SC - Schizophrenia;

L - Lie; Ma - Hypomania

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author would like to thank Robert Paul Liberman, M.D., for his

assistance and Peter Liberman for analyzing the data. This work

was supported by NIDA grant 1 RO1 DA 1056.

AUTHOR

Charles J. Wallace, Ph.D.

Camarillo-NPI Research Program

Box A

Camarillo, California 93010

25

300-345 0 - 79 - 3
Chapter 3

Naltrexone and Behavior Therapy

for Heroin Addiction

Richard A. Rawson, Ph.D., Michael Glazer, Ph.D., Edward J.

Callahan, Ph.D., and Robert Paul Liberman, M.D.

Therapeutic approaches to heroin addiction can be aimed at either the

physical or psychological aspects of the addiction. Medical treatments

have generally offered heroin substitutes to allay the strong drug urges

associated with abstinence while psychological approaches have, for the

most part, attempted to bring about personality change in the addict.

While these approaches have met with some success, the shortcomings of

presently available treatments have motivated research on new ways of

dealing with addiction. Two promising new treatments are naltrexone,

one of a class of narcotic antagonists or opiate-blocking agents, and

broad spectrum behavior therapy.

As opposed to heroin substitutes such as methadone, naltrexone is used

to prevent the euphoric consequences which would normally result from

using heroin. Since the drug is taken only after the addict is already

opiate-free, it is primarily used as a tool to promote continued abstinence. It is hoped that during the period of opiate blockage the addict

will experience the extinction or diminution of drug urges and drugseeking behaviors while he has a chance to develop a "straight" lifestyle with normalization of family, social, recreational, and vocational

involvements (Wikler 1976). Naltrexone has been administered to over

1000 addicts and has been found to be well tolerated, physically safe,

and to produce a highly effective blockade against opiates (Julius

and Renault 1976). There is general agreement by those evaluating the

clinical effectiveness of naltrexone that while an addict is receiving

the antagonist he rarely if ever challenges the blockade with heroin or

other opiates, even if the opiate is made available to him in an experimental setting (Altman et al. 1976; Callahan et al. 1976; Hurzeler,

Gewirtz, and Kleber 1976; Greenstein et al. 1976). Additional empirical

support for the antagonist rationale canes from subjective reports of addicts receiving naltrexone, which indicate that the antagonist rapidly

reduces cravings and urges for opiates (Greenstein et al. 1976; Meyer

et al. 1976).

Behavior therapies have been advocated as approaches to teaching addicts

new prosocial and adaptive coping methods in life management and stabilization (Copemann and Shaw 1976); yet a summary of the early applications

of behavioral approaches to drug abuse reveals a dearth of scientific

26
documentation of the efficacy of these procedures (Callahan and Liberman

1976). Other critical reviews of the use of behavior therapy with drug

addicts point to a lack of multilevel and replicable dependent measures,

the need for more representative drug subjects, the lack of followup assessments, and a need for more stringent experimental control procedures

(Callner 1975; Gotestam, Melin, and Ost 1976). Because of the therapeutic possibilities of naltrexone and behavior therapy and the need for

adequate evaluation, a study was designed to compare naltrexone and behavior therapy, alone and in combination, as outpatient treatments for

narcotic addiction. This article is a report of the results of the

three years of the project's work with addicts in an experimental comparison of three groups, utilizing multilevel measures of outcome.

METHOD

Setting and Subjects

The Heroin Antagonist and Learning Therapy (H.A.L.T.) Project was located in the city of Oxnard, on the Pacific Coast, approximately 50 miles

north of Los Angeles. With a population of 85,000, it is the largest

city in Ventura County, an agricultural and industrial area of 450,000

people. The cities of Oxnard and Ventura, with a combined population

of approximately 150,000, are the major sources of clients for the program. Ethnically, the area is approximately 65 percent white, 30 percent Chicano and 5 percent black. The addiction rate in Ventura County

is approximately 3 percent, the fourth highest in California. The ethnic breakdown of the clients interviewed for intakes at H.A.L.T. is

shown in table 1.

TABLE 1

Number of Clients Assigned to Each Treatment Group

Ethnic

Group

Behavior Naltrexone/ Total

Therapy Naltrexone Behavior Therapy

White 32 23 16 71

Black 7 5 4 16

Chicano 32 27 35 94

Total 71 55 55 181

27
As can be seen from this table, although Chicanos make up 30 percent of

the catchment area population, they make up 54 percent of the addicts

interviewed at H.A.L.T. This is indicative of the disproportionately

high heroin problem which is almost endemic in the Chicano community.

All subjects accepted into the study were men, since the FDA had not

approved naltrexone for use with women. Table 2 shows sane of the

demographic characteristics of the clients interviewed at H.A.L.T.

TABLE 2

Demographic Characteristics

Age

Education

Age first use of

Heroin

Years addicted to

Heroin

Ethnic Group

White Black Chicano

24.9 30.7 25.8

11.5 11.2 10.3

18.9 17.7 17.5

6.3 12.7 8.3

Total

25.9

10.8

18.0

7.9

The H.A.L.T. project had a staff of 10 people, including 3 psychologists,

3 B.A. level counselors, 1 exaddict counselor, an administrative assistant, and a parttime physician and psychiatrist. The major portion of

treatment was carried out by the counselors under the direct supervision

of the staff psychologists, who also had caseloads. The entire program

was supervised by the psychiatrist, who reviewed each client with the

entire staff on a weekly basis. The physician's duties were limited to

giving each client a physical exam prior to his admission into the program.

Program Description

Following the intake interview and signing of the informed consent form,

clients were randomly assigned to one of the three treatment programs

described below.

Naltrexone Alone Program

Naltrexone is a narcotic antagonist, similar to naloxone and cyclazocine

but with the advantage of having a longer duration of effect than naloxone and fewer noxious side effects than cyclazocine. A 50 mg dose

of naltrexone will block the effect of any opiate-based drug for at

28
least 24 hours. Clients in this group received blocking doses of naltrexone for up to 40 weeks. They also had access to a vocational prep

aration and placement program. However, for any extensive counseling or

psychotherapy, the clients Were referred to a local mental health facility

For the first two Weeks in the program, subjects received a 50 mg dose

daily. For the next 6 Weeks, clients received 50 mg doses Monday - Friday

and a 100 mg dose on Saturday. After these first 2 months in the program,

the clients Were allowed to take 100 mg doses on Monday and Wednesday and a

150 mg dose on Friday. They remained on this schedule for sixteen Weeks,

followed by another 16-week period in Which the clients were faded-off

naltrexone. The fading Was done either by scheduling periods of one,

two, three, and finally four Weeks of no naltrexone-taking interspersed

With one-week periods on naltrexone, or by gradually decreasing the size

of the doses of naltrexone.

Behavior Therapy Program

The behavior therapy program at H.A.L.T included a variety of techniques

for the treatment of addiction. Contingency contracting (Boudin et al.

1976) provided program structure by specifying the level of performance

required to maintain active status in the program. Behavioral techniques

such as relaxation training and desensitization, covert sensitization,

and self-control procedures were used following an assessment of aclient's

particular needs. In addition, since most pressing issues for clients

were lack of legal income, extremely poor living conditions, and being

surrounded by friends and relatives who used heroin, the primary approach

used by H.A.L.T. became that of assisting the client in issues of life

management. These techniques included instructions and role playing sessions on how to get on Welfare or unemployment, which Were often important in providing clients with the means of procuring the resources necessary to move out of the most heavily heroin-saturated areas. In group

sessions involving role playing and video tape feedback, clients learned

how to turn down a fix or refuse a request to buy heroin Without violating any mores of the heroin subculture. Handling these personal, financial, and social problems and helping the client get through a variety

of crises constituted the major portion of the initial intervention With

clients in this group.

When the client had begun receiving some sort of financial support and

had acquired social skills necessary to turn down heroin, the treatment

emphasis was switched to expanding the client's interests and experiences in the straight world and ensuring continued regular contact with

the H.A.L.T. program. To promote new interests, clients Were given behavioral assignments with staff members role playing situations and accompanying the client on new activities in the community. In addition,

approximately 1-3 hours per Week of traditional behavior therapy techniques Were used When relevant. However, the primary contribution to

therapeutic progress made by these clients was the active, intensive, involvement of the staff in dealing with clients' severe social, economic,

and interpersonal problems.

Throughout treatment, counselors stayed in regular contact With the behavior therapy clients by requiring scheduled daily phone calls during

Which the clients reported their past, present, and planned activities,

29
and their drug cravings. Clients in the behavior therapy condition also

were able to earn the privilege of participating in the vocational

placement program.

Naltrexone/Behavior Therapy Program

The clients in the combined naltrexone/behavior therapy program received

both kinds of treatment just described. One difference in the behavior

therapy orientation for the clients in the combined program was that

slightly less emphasis was placed on those techniques designed to reduce

immediate drug urges. This allowed for a greater amount of time to be

placed on the development of non-drug-related interests. The reason

for this was that almost all clients reported a marked decrease or cessation in drug-related thoughts and urges once they started taking naltrexone.

Dependent Measures

TABLE 3

The Multilevel process and Outcome Measures used to Assess

H.A.L.T. Clients

30
A comprehensive multilevel battery of process and outcome measures was

used during treatment and at followup points (see table 3). These measures assessed:

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

Program entry. For clients to gain active client

status, they were required to complete a two-week

probationary period. This could be done in one of

two ways. First, and most commonly, they could complete a one-week inpatient detoxification program.

Upon completion of detoxification, they then had to

give three clean urines over the next seven days and

carry out other requirements such as taking naltrexone

and attending therapy sessions. The second method

of earning entry was to spend the entire two weeks

on the "street" give clean urines every two days,

and attend appointments and start naltrexone if required.

Treatment duration. Time in treatment was expressed

in the number of weeks clients remained in contact.

Therapeutic assignments. During the course of

treatment, clients in the behavior therapy and naltrexone/behavior therapy groups were required to fulfill various responsibilities such as keeping therapy

appointments, attempting assignments in the community,

and completing assignments at home as outlined in

contingency contracts. A comparison of the number

of responsibilities assigned and completed provided

some indication of the relative number of therapy

demands on the two groups and of the degree to which

clients successfully met treatment requirements.

Naltrexone doses. The actual number of 50 mg dosage

days that clients took naltrexone was considered in

the data analysis of the two naltrexone groups.

Urinalysis. The analyses were done by a thin layer

chromatography analysis for confirmation. The urines

were screened for opiates, methadone, barbiturates,

and amphetamines. Subjects in all groups were required

to give three urine samples per week, supervised by

staff, for the entire time they were in the program.

On occasion the necessity of taking a sample was precluded by a subject's admission of recent heroin use.

Data of this sort were included in the urinalysis as

if a sample had been taken and analyzed as being heroin

positive.

Followup data. The followup plan at H.A.L.T. was

designed to obtain monthly indications of heroin use

and legal status. In all cases, when an outside person or agency was contacted it was done only with the

subject's written consent. All followup contacts

31
and interviews were carried out by a staff member who

was only marginally involved in the treatment program

at H.A.L.T.

Whenever possible the client was contacted 24 hours prior to the followup interview and told that the interviewer would be visiting the next

day. In those cases where substantial travel was required, several

days’ notice was often given to ensure the client's presence at the interview. All missed appointments were rescheduled for the following

week. The followup data presented in this report are based upon contacts

with the clients at sane point between 9 and 15 months post treatment. It

was not possible to contact all clients at 12 months post treatment,

primarily due to budgetary considerations. Clients who moved a substantial distance from Oxnard were contacted for followup when it was

convenient for a staff member to be in their area.

RESULTS

Program Entry Data

Not all clients who were assigned to treatment made an active attempt to

enter treatment. An attempt at entering treatment is operationally defined as returning to the project following the intake interview to write

an entry probation contract. As can be seen in table 4, a greater proportion of clients assigned to the naltrexone (77 percent) and naltrexone/

behavior therapy groups (82 percent) attempted entry than clients assigned

to the behavior therapy group (62 percent).

TABLE 4

Program Entry Data

Naltrexone/

Behavior Therapy Naltrexone Behavior Therapy

Number of Clients

Assigned to Group 71 55 55

Number of Clients

Attempted Entry 44 43 45

Number of Clients

Completed Entry 15 23 20

Probation

Although this difference is not statistically significant, it does suggest

that the two naltrexone treatment groups may have been slightly more attractive as treatment approaches than the behavior therapy treatment.

32
Of those clients who did return to make an attempt at program entry, the

naltrexone clients were most successful at earning entry (53 percent),

followed by the naltrexone/behavior clients, 44 percent of whom earned

entry. The behavior therapy clients were least successful at earning

entry, with only 34 percent succeeding. Overall, 44 percent of those

subjects attempting entry into H.A.L.T. were successful. Differences

in rates of entry between the three treatment groups were not statistically significant (X2

 = 2.06, p<0.1).

A summary of the program entry data suggests that fewer clients attempted

entry into the behavior therapy group; of those who did, fewer completed

the two week entry requirements than clients in the two groups receiving

naltrexone. Overall, of those clients assigned respectively to naltrexone,

naltrexone/behavior therapy, and behavior therapy alone, 42 percent, 36

percent, and 21 percent earned entry into treatment. The comparison between the naltrexone vs. behavior therapy group was statistically significant, (X2

 = 6.14, p<.025) and the difference between the naltrexone/behavior therapy group and the behavior therapy group approached significance (X2

 = 3.55, .05>p<0.1). there was no significant difference between the two naltrexone groups.

Treatment Duration

Once in treatment, clients in the naltrexone and naltrexone/behavior therapy groups stayed in treatment nearly twice as long as did clients in

the behavior therapy group. Mean treatment duration for clients in the

three groups was: naltrexone, 29.6 weeks; naltrexone/behavior therapy,

29.1 weeks; behavior therapy, 16.1 weeks. The difference in treatment

duration was statistically significant (F (2.55) = 4.02, p<.025), with

the naltrexone and naltrexone/behavior therapy clients staying in treatment significantly longer than the behavior therapy clients (p<.05 in

both cases). However, there was no difference in treatment duration

between the two groups of clients receiving naltrexone.

Almost two-thirds of all clients receiving naltrexone stayed in treatment

over 24 weeks. In the naltrexone group, 14 of 23 (61 percent) and in

the naltrexone/behavior therapy group, 13 of 20 (65 percent) stayed in

treatment for at least 24 weeks. Over the course of the program, the

percentage of clients staying in treatment for 24 weeks or more increased

dramatically in both naltrexone groups. Fifty percent (14 of 28) of

those clients starting naltrexone in the project's first 14 months stayed

in treatment for at least 24 weeks. However, of those clients who started naltrexone in the last 11 months of the program, 87 percent (13 of 15)

stayed in treatment 24 weeks or more.

Therapeutic Assignments

Because the specific therapy responsibilities varied from subject to subject, it did not appear appropriate to compare these levels statistically.

Since clients in the naltrexone alone group had no therapy responsibilities, they are not included in this section.

Table 5 presents the assignment completion statistics.

33
TABLE 5

Therapy Assignments Given and Completed

Behavior Therapy Naltrexone/

Behavior Therapy

Mean Total Number of Therapy

Assignments per Subject 30.8 44.8

Mean Total Number of Therapy

Assignments Completed per

Subject

Mean Number of Therapy

Assignments per Subject

per Week

Mean Number of Therapy

Assignments Completed

per Subject per Week

17.4

2.1

1.2

30.6

1.8

1.2

Percentage of Total Therapy Assignments Completed

per Subject

56% 68%

As these data indicate, clients in the naltrexone/behavior therapy group

were given more assignments and completed more assignments. However,

since the naltrexone/behavior therapy clients Were in the program longer,

these figures must be computed per Week in treatment. On a Weekly basis,

the clients in the behavior therapy group Were given a slightly higher

number of assignments, but completed about the same number as those

in the naltrexone/behavior therapy group.

Overall, the clients in the naltrexone/behavior therapy group completed

a slightly higher percentage of therapy assignments than did clients

in the behavior therapy group (68 percent vs. 56 percent). For example,

clients in the naltrexone/behavior therapy group missed fewer scheduled

therapy appointments than did subjects in the behavior therapy group,

suggesting that the clients in the naltrexone/behavior therapy group

Were more reliably active in treatment. These data support the contention that naltrexone may be of assistance in facilitating therapeutic

behavior changes.

Naltrexone Doses

The mean number of days on naltrexone for clients in the naltrexone and

naltrexone/behavior therapy groups were 102.6 and 113.8 "dosage days,"

respectively. The lack of statistically significant difference between

34
the amounts of naltrexone taken by clients in the two groups is at odds

with earlier data reported from H.A.L.T. (Callahan et al. 1976). In that

earlier report, based on data compilation up to May 1976, clients in the

naltrexone plus behavior group had taken significantly more naltrexone

than clients in the naltrexone alone group. To illustrate the use of naltrexone over time, table 6 presents a comparison of the days on naltrexone

for clients who started naltrexone in the two groups during three successive 7-month periods of naltrexone use at H.A.L.T.

TABLE 6

Mean Number of Dosage Days on Naltrexone

for Clients Starting Naltrexone During

Three Successive 7-Month Blocks

Group Clients Taking Clients Taking Clients Taking

First Dose Be- First Dose Be- First Dose Beteen 3/1/75 & tween 10/1/75 & tween 5/1/76 &

9/30/75 4/30/76 11/30/76

Naltrexone 43 91 165

n=4 n=9 n=6

,

Naltrexone/

Behavior 88 110 184

Therapy n=9 n=6 n=4

(It should be noted that four naltrexone group clients and one naltrexone/behavior therapy client started after the end of the last 7-month

block presented. Their data are included in the dosage day group means

presented above, but are omitted from table 6, since their treatment termination was effected by the program's closing in the summer of 1977.)

Although clients in the naltrexone/behavior therapy group have taken

naltrexone consistently longer than those in the naltrexone group, it is

clear that the magnitude of difference decreased as the project matured.

One possible explanation for the reduction in difference between groups is

that the behavior therapy was a useful adjunct in keeping clients in naltrexone treatment during the early stages of the program when there was a

great deal of uncertainty about the new experimental drug. Clients in the

35
naltrexone/behavior therapy group had much more staff contact, which may

have helped to increase their confidence in the staff. This may in turn

have helped to allay some of their anxieties about naltrexone. Clients

in the naltrexone group had much less contact With staff and were given

less support, which may have resulted in their early termination during

the initial months of the program. Once the "street word" circulated

that naltrexone worked and was safe, this supportive factor provided by

behavior therapy may have become much less critical.

Another explanation for the reduction in the difference between the two

groups concerns the confidence and sophistication of the staff in using

naltrexone. Over the duration of the whole project, the issues essential in keeping clients on naltrexone became familiar to the staff and

may have been applied to all naltrexone-taking clients regardless of

group assignment. It should be stressed that although clients in the

naltrexone alone group did not receive any standard (behavior therapy)

techniques, they did receive staff time, staff support, assistance in

obtaining employment, special arrangements for receiving late or missed

doses of naltrexone, and "nurse's station advice." It is possible that

although naltrexone-alone clients spent only one-third as much time in

the clinic as did clients in the naltrexone/behavior therapy group, the

interactions they had with the staff may have because progressively more

effective at promoting naltrexone-taking as the staff became more experienced With naltrexone. This might explain Why clients in both groups

Were retained longer on naltrexone during the later stages of the project.

A review of a number of factors such as heroin use history, employment

status, ethnic group, and socioeconomic level suggests no apparent differences between clients starting naltrexone over the three 7-month

blocks. If there were no differences in the types of clients, one can

speculate that there was an increased acceptance of naltrexone by the

addict population and/or an increased ability of the H.A.L.T staff to

keep clients on the drug. Regardless of the reason, it is clear from

those 10 clients started in the period from May to November 1976 that

it is possible to keep addicts on naltrexone for substantial periods

of time.

Urinalysis Data

The mean number of urines given per subject per Week is shown with other

urinalysis data in table 7. Subjects in all three subgroups averaged about two urine samples given per Week. All subjects were required to

give three urines per week. The data reveal that over one-third of the

scheduled urines Were missed. Reasons for these missed samples include

instances Where the subjects missed appointments for unexcused or

valid excused reasons, and instances of staff oversight. There was

no indication of any systematic difference between the treatments with

regard to reasons for missing urine samples.

Table 7 shows that subjects in the naltrexone/behavior therapy group had

significantly more opiate-free urines than those in the behavior therapy

group (F = 4.03, p<.05). A Newman-Keuls comparison (Winer 1962) indi36
TABLE 7

Urinalysis Data

Behavior

Therapy

Naltrexone

Mean Number of Weeks

in Treatment

Mean Number of Urine

Samples Given

Mean Number of Urine

Samples S per Week

Mean Number of OpiateFree Urines

Mean Number of OpiatePositive Urines

Percentage of OpiateFree Urines

Mean Number of Urine

Samples Positive for

"Other" Drugs per Client

16.1 29.6 29.1

31.5 54.7 59.5

1.96 1.85 2.04

22.7 51.5 55.6

7.7

72%

1.1

3.2

94.1%

2.2

3.7

93.4%

1.4

Naltrexone/

Behavior Therapy

cated that the naltrexone/behavior therapy group differed significantly

from the behavior therapy group (p<.05), but that the other comparisons were not statistically significant. In addition, subjects

in the naltrexone/behavior therapy and naltrexone groups gave significantly fewer opiate-positive urines than did subjects in the behavior

therapy-p (F = 5.92, p<.01). Newman-Keuls analysis indicated that

both naltrexone groups differed significantly from the behavior therapy

group (p<.01). Finally, the superiority of the two naltrexone groups

was also indicated by their significantly higher percentage of opiatefree urine samples as compared to the behavior therapy group. A chi

square test comparing the ratio of opiate-free to opiate-positive

urines indicated a significant difference in percentages (X2 = 8.15,

p<.025). Individual chi square comparisons indicated that the two

37
naltrexone groups gave a significantly higher percentage of opiatefree urines than the behavior therapy group (p<.025, in both cases).

Data on urines positive for barbiturates, amphetamines or methadone reveal (table 7) that there were between one and two urine samples per subject showing these substances. This result dispels the concern that

clients staying free of heroin on naltrexone immediately switch to other

illicit drugs. Since the urine samples were not screened for marijuana

or alcohol, use of these substances is unknown. Anecdotal reports from

clients, relatives, and staff support the view that only a minority of

naltrexone clients increased their use of alcohol and marijuana.

In summary, these data indicate that naltrexone and naltrexone plus

behavior therapy are superior to behavior therapy alone in maintaining

heroin-free urines. Behavior therapy clients gave approximately one

opiate-positive urine sample every two weeks. The comparable figures

for naltrexone and naltrexone/behavior therapy were one/nine weeks

and one/eight weeks respectively.

Followup Data

Of the 57 clients treated at H.A.L.T. only 10.5 percent were not reached

for 12-month followup contact. The analysis in table 8 provides the

most critical data of treatment outcome for each of the three treatment

approaches.

TABLE 8

Followup Status at 12-Month Posttreatment

Behavior Therapy Naltrexone Naltrexone/

Total # of clients Total # of Behavior Therapy

Treated = 15 Clients Treated Total # of

= 23 Clients Treated

= 20

Opiate-Free Urine

Samples 4 10 8

Opiate-Positive

Urine Samples 4 4 3

Incarcerated 6 6 4

In other Treatment 0 1 1

Out of Contact 0 2 4

Dead 1 0 0

Total 15 23 20

38
The first three rows of this table indicate that only 28 percent of the

behavior therapy clients were opiate-free at followup, while 72 percent

were opiate-positive or in jail. In contrast, 48 percent of the naltrexone clients and 50 percent of the naltrexone/behavior therapy clients

were opiate-free at 12-month followup. Although these percentage differences are not statistically significant (X2

 = 1.59, p>0.1), they do

suggest that the heroin use and legal problems of clients in the behavior therapy program were greater than those of clients in the naltrexone

groups.

The apparently better followup status of the naltrexone clients cannot

at this time be pinpointed. It should be noted, however, that across.

all groups, the mean treatment duration of clients who gave opiate-free

urine samples at 12-month followup was greater than for those who were

either opiate-positive or incarcerated.

TABLE 9

Mean Number of Weeks in Treatment

According to 12-Month Followup Status

Naltrexone/

Behavior Therapy Naltrexone Behavior Therapy

Opiate-Free Urine

Sample at 12-Month

Followup

24.8 39 34.6

n=4 n=10 n=8

Opiate-Positive Urine

Sample or Incarcerated

at 12-Month Followp

14.2 23.1 29.9

n=10 n=10 n=7

Table 9 presents the mean treatment durations of clients in the three

groups divided according to 12-month followup status. Although increased time in treatment appears to be related to opiate-free status

at 12-month followup in all three treatment groups, the differences

are not statistically significant (F<1).

DISCUSSION

H.A.L.T. was designed to compare naltrexone and behavior therapy, alone

and in combination, as outpatient treatment programs for heroin addiction. The results strongly suggest that naltrexone can be an effective

39
means of keeping addicts off heroin and in treatment. In addition, the

process and followup data indicate that the two groups of clients receiving naltrexone used less heroin in treatment and following treatment than did clients receiving behavior therapy alone. In general, the

results from the two naltrexone groups were substantially better than

the results achieved by the behavior therapy treatment. The addition

of behavior therapy to the naltrexone treatment produced little effect

except during early stages of the program.

One encouraging finding was the demonstrated ability of naltrexone to

promote longer stays in treatment. The average treatment durations of

29.6 and 29.1 weeks for the naltrexone and naltrexone/behavior therapy

clients respectively are especially impressive in light of the nature of

the H.A.L.T. clients, who were for the most part hard-core street addicts.

It should be noted that the figures for time in treatment represent

that period during which the clients were actively involved in

H.A.L.T. Clients in the naltrexone groups did not take naltrexone continuously during their time in treatment. Periods of one week off naltrexone were scheduled at times to allow the clients to "test" their ability to remain abstinent. Clients were also off naltrexone during the entire "fading" period when they were discontinuing treatment, during periods of illness or reported side effects, and when they took trips out

of the area. Except for the latter reason, urine samples were taken on

the regular three day per week schedule during off-naltrexone periods

and Were often collected on an even more frequent basis; fewer missed

urine samples were allowed, since it was critical to monitor heroin use

during these periods. Therefore, the 29 weeks of treatment, during which

clients gave 94 percent clean urine samples, represent a substantial

period of virtual heroin abstinence.

The behavior therapy aspects of the H.A.L.T. project were discouraging.

Less than 25 percent of those clients who were assigned to the behavior

therapy group eventually earned their way into active status. Of the

15 clients who did earn entry, only 2 completed 24 weeks of treatment.

While in treatment, such clients often did not complete behavioral assignments and many continued to use heroin. As an adjunct to naltrexone, the behavior therapies employed at H.A.L.T. did serve to

increase staff-client contact. This may have been an important factor in keeping clients on naltrexone in the early stages of the program. The followup data suggest, however, that there were few long term

benefits produced by these behavioral techniques.

The ineffectiveness of the behavioral components of the H.A.L.T. program

is disappointing. It contrasts sharply with the results of Boudin et

al.'s (1976) behavior therapy program in which clients staved in treatment for well over 6 months and continued to be heroin free during the

followup. The discrepancy between the results may be due to demographic

variables. Boudin's client pool was primarily middle class, many had

college educations, and most were employed. In Oxnard, the clients

were much poorer, few had finished high school, and over 60 percent were

on welfare. In contrast with Boudin's clients, many of whom were college

students in a university town and new to the local heroin scene, many of

the H.A.L.T. clients were second generation addicts and had been deeply

involved in the heroin subculture in the Oxnard area for many years.

40
This history makes staying heroin free much more difficult, particularly when all of one's friends and relatives are using heroin.

The relative ineffectiveness of the behavior therapy alone approach is

consistent with the meager results of a similar outpatient drug treatment program reported from Munich, Germany (Copemann 1975). Of 20 patients entering an 11-month behavioral program, only 6 completed the

course, and only 4 were drug free at l-year followup. Earlier reports

of the success of behavior therapy with narcotic addicts may be related

to the fact that in almost all of these cases, the clients treated were

middle class, educated addicts, or the reports were of "process" data

from inpatient programs (Copemann and Shaw 1976; Callner 1975; Gotestam,

Melin, and Ost 1976).

The results of the H.A.L.T. Project indicate that in a community like

Oxnard, California, behavior therapy is not a useful outpatient treatment approach for heroin addiction. On the other hand, the data suggest

that naltrexone is a promising new treatment approach. In view of the

followup data collected, there is a definite need to devise sane new

strategies for promoting the generalization of intreatment abstinence

to the posttreatment situation. Succcessful and long term abstinence

is likely to be minimized when the treatment program--such as being on

naltrexone—is easily discriminable from the posttreatment situation.

One cannot assume that the temporary reduction of heroin cravings and

heroin taking will generalize to the nonnaltrexone situation. The behavioral methods employed at H.A.L.T. may not have gone far enough to expose

the clients to relevant stimuli in order to facilitate extinction. It

may be necessary to elicit behaviors involved in heroin seeking and heroin taking in order to promote the process of extinction.

It is likely that any extinction procedure should be used in conjunction

with a program designed to shape and reinforce new alternative non-drugrelated behaviors. Specifically, an attempt should be made to provide

the client with the skills necessary to obtain reinforcement from the

areas of employment and leisure time activities. Unless there is sane

payoff for remaining opiate-abstinent, it is unlikely that the behavior

changes which occurred while on naltrexone will be maintained. Providing this payoff might be accomplished by employing a variety of

techniques which can be tailored to the individual needs of the client,

as suggested by Copemann (1975). The results of the H.A.L.T. project

indicate that naltrexone can help to provide a period of heroin abstinence during which these techniques can be employed.

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Hurzeler, M., Gewirtz, D., and Kleber, H. Varying clinical contexts

for administering naltrexone. In: Julius, D.A. and Renault, P.F.,

eds. Narcotic Antagonists: Naltrexone. National Institute on Drug

Abuse Research Monograph 9. As above.

Johnston, L.D., Nurco, D.N,, and Robins, L.N., eds. Conducting Followup Research on Drug Treatment Programs. National Institute on Drug

Abuse Treatment Program Monograph 2. DHEW Pub No. (ADM)78-487. Washington, D.C.: Superintendent of Documents, 1978.

Julius, D.A., and Renault, P.F., eds. Narcotic Antagonists: Naltrexone.

National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Monograph 9. DHEW Pub. No.

(ADM)76-387. Washington, D.C.: Superintendent of Documents, 1976.

42
Meyer, R.; Randall, M.; Barrington, C.; Mirin, S.; Greenberg, I.

Limitations of an extinction approach to narcotic antagonist treatment.

In: Julius, D.A., and Renault, P.F., eds. Narcotic Antagonists:

Naltrexone. National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Monograph 9.

As above.

Winer, B.J. Statistical Principles in Experimental Design. New York:

McGraw Hill, 1952.

Wikler, A. The theoretical basis of narcotic antagonists. In: Julius,

D.A., and Renault, P.F. Narcotic Antagonists: Naltrexone. National

Institute on Drug Abuse Research Monograph 9. As above.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported by NIDA Grant No. DA 01059. The authors

also Wish to acknowledge the following people for their important

contributions to the work of the H.A.L.T. Project: Beverly McCleave,

M.A.; Richard D. Arias, B.A.; William Flores, B.A.; Michael McCann, M.A.

AUTHORS

Richard A. Rawson, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

New York Medical College

5 East 102nd Street

New York, New York 10029

Michael Glazer, Ph.D.

and

Robert Paul Liberman, M.D.

Camarillo-Neuropsychiatric Institute

Camarillo, California 93010

Edward J. Callahan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychology

University of West Virginia

Morgantown, West Virginia 26505

43
Chapter 4

A Behavioral Program for

Treatment of Drug Dependence

Roy Pickens, Ph.D.

In 1965, Ayllon and Azrin described a program for treatment of behavior

problems in institutionalized adults. They found desirable behavior

could be established and maintained in hospitalized patients by means

of a token-economy system. Based on principles of operant conditioning,

tokens were given to patients contingent on desirable behavior and taken

away for undesirable behavior. Subsequently, other programs have been

similarly effective in treating behavior problems with this same approach (Phillips 1968; Thompson and Grabowski 1972).

A ward program patterned after that of Ayllon and Azrin has been employed at the University of Minnesota since 1973 for the treatment of

drug dependence. The purpose of this paper is to describe the behavioral procedures used, and to present preliminary data showing outcome

results.

WARD PROGRAM

The program is located on one of the psychiatry wards of University

Hospital. On the 13-bed ward, 8 beds are occupied by drug-dependent

patients, with the remaining 5 beds housing primarily patients with

eating disorders (anorexia nervosa). The entire ward is managed as a

behavioral treatment unit, employing basic learning principles in the

establishment of desirable behavior and elimination of undesirable behavior.

The program is operated in a manner similar to that originally described

by Ayllon and Azrin (1965), except that points are used instead of tokens

for reinforcement. For drug-dependent patients, the general treatment

goals are establishment of new behaviors related to more independent

personal functioning and elimination of old behaviors related to drug

abuse.

In the program, desired behavior is reinforced by point gain while undesired behavior causes point loss. Points earned are exchangeable for

a variety of goods and services. All point transactions are recorded

in a booklet which the patient is issued daily. Daily records are

kept of each patient’s performance in the behavioral system.

44
Points are earned by patients for three general classes of behavior:

participating in therapeutic activities, participating in ward activities,

and personal care. Therapeutic activities include work on the specific

treatment plan which is developed for each patient during the first

week of hospitalization. Points are also given for attending individual

and group therapy sessions, which involve assertiveness training, rational-

-emotive therapy, problem-solving, and classical chemical dependency

counseling. Ward activities that gain points include completing assigned

tasks, such as preparing lunch, attending scheduled classes, watering

plants, etc. Classes are scheduled for patients throughout the ward day

and consist of 45-minute sessions on a variety of topics, including

bicycle repair, consumer buying, cooking, karate, etc. Personal care

activities that earn points include cleaning room, picking up and washing clothes, taking shower, etc.

Extra points can be earned by patients for being on time to classes and

other scheduled activities, and also for the patient’s degree of participation in each. For example, a patient may earn 20 points for attending a group therapy session, an additional 5 points for being on time,

and 20 points more for significant participation, as judged by the group

leader.

Points are lost by patients for being in bed inappropriately, verbal

abuse, assault, theft, etc. For drug-dependent patients, points may also

be lost for drug use or other activities detailed in the patient’s specific treatment plan. Points may be spent by patients for snacks, supplies, TV rental, extra staff time, visitors, overnight passes, etc. On

discharge, all unspent points are exchangeable for trading stamps that

can be redeemed outside the hospital for merchandise. More details on

the ward program are given in Pickens, Errickson, Thompson, Heston and

Eckert (1978).

Figure 1 shows a representative treatment plan for one patient, dealing

with the problem of chronic alcoholism. The treatment goal for this patient was total abstinence, although with some patients controlled drinking, following the approach outlined by Miller and Munoz (1976), has also

been employed. In addition to chemical dependency counseling and attending AA meetings, the patient was allowed to spend increasingly longer intervals off the ward, without specifying activities to be engaged in during this time. Upon returning to the ward, however, the patient was

given a breathalyzer test to determine if drinking had occurred during the

pass. If not, the patient was allowed another pass for the following day.

If drinking had occurred, the patient was to be incarcerated, as a condition of a court order.

Figure 2 shows a representative treatment plan for a middle-aged housewife with sedative abuse problems. Since the patient lived in a small

rural town, her drug-abuse problem could be readily controlled by the

cooperation of the family physician. The treatment plan consisted primarily of getting the patient involved in activities outside the home and

reducing her dependence upon her spouse for mediation of other

reinforcers.

It should be apparent from the above description that our drug dependence treatment program is not entirely behavioral. Classical psychotherapeutic and chemical dependency counseling techniques are employed

in parts of the program. While both behavioral and nonbehavioral

45


therapies may be involved in patient treatment, it is important to

recognize that the entire program is managed on a behavioral basis.

The ward’s general behavioral program is used to insure patient attendance and participation in the nonbehavioral treatment approaches. Thus,

the program may be viewed as serving two different functions: it is

useful as a treatment approach in its own right, and it improves patient

contact with other therapeutic approaches that also may prove beneficial.

CONTINGENCY CONTRACTING

On the ward, extensive use is made of another behavioral technique --

the contingency contract. This is a written statement of agreement

between a patient and staff member specifying a behavior that is to be

changed and establishing contingencies for accomplishing the change.

Initially, the staff member provides the patient with a frequency count

of the behavior in question and gets agreement from the patient that

improvement would result from the behavior change. Contingencies are

arranged to reinforce the behavior if it is to be increased in frequency, or to extinguish or punish the behavior if it is to be decreased.

A method is also devised for measuring the behavioral change. The plan

is then formalized as a written agreement signed by both parties, becoming the contingency contract.

As an example of how contingency contracts are used, a staff member

observes that a patient rarely states her opinion on family matters in

weekly meetings with her husband. When the patient admits she would

like to be more assertive, a plan is devised where each assertive statement by the patient in family discussions results in extra pass time

being given to the patient during the coming week. The agreement between patient and staff member is then formalized as a written and

signed contract, which in effect is a statement from the staff member

to the patient saying, "If you’ll be more assertive around your husband,

I’ll grant you more pass time."

With a point-economy program, it is relatively easy to make use of

contingency contracting, as both approaches are based on the same behavioral principles, Points are convenient reinforcers in both the

ward program and contingency contract system. The individual treatment plans in the general ward program are, in effect, contingency

contracts, as they identify problem behaviors, specify desired behaviors,

establish the approach to be used in the behavioral change, state the

reinforcement to be employed, and are agreed to and signed by both

patient and staff members. Contingency contracts are also frequently

involved in the program as a condition for overnight and weekend passes.

With patients who are physiologically dependent on sedative drugs and

must be detoxified, we have recently used contingency contracts to

allow these patients to withdraw themselves safely from the drugs. This

self-detoxification procedure is in sharp contrast to the procedure

normally employed in sedative withdrawal, which typically involves a

physician’s control of all drug administration, with initial estimation

of the patient’s degree of physiological dependence and subsequent gradual reduction in the daily drug intake until detoxification is complete. Since our patients were subjects in a research project involving ad lib pentobarbital self-administration prior to detoxification

(Pickens, Cunningham, Heston, Eckert and Gustafson 1977), their in48
dividual maintenance dosage of pentobarbital was known. With the

drug freely available for self-administration throughout detoxification, the patient was allowed to contract to take one less drug capsule

each day until detoxification was complete. Patients earned points

for meeting this requirement each day. While they were allowed to

remain at the same dosage level for two days with no point loss, points

were lost if the patients remained at the same level for more than two

days, increased their drug intake over the most recent lowest level,

or decreased drug intake by more than one capsule per day. Figure 3

shows the contingency contract used in the self-detoxification procedure.

FIGURE 3

SELF-DETOXIFICATION CONTRACT

I understand the purpose of this procedure is to allow

me control over my own rate of drug detoxification from my

original addicted state. I have received a schedule to

guide me in undergoing detoxification safely and gradually.

I will assume all-responsibility for regulating my drug

intake, and the credit will be all mine for the accomplishments I make.

Today I agree to take capsules of medication.

The number of capsules I took yesterday was . I

understand that if the number of capsules taken today is

one less than the number taken yesterday, I will receive

points at midnight tonight. If the number of capsules taken today is the same as the number of capsules

taken yesterday, I will receive no points. In no case,

however, can I remain at the same drug level for more than

two successive days without losing points. If I take

more drug than today than I did yesterday, or if I take

less drug today than is recommended on the guide sheet, or

if I remain at the same drug level for more than two successive days, I will be required to pay points for

each capsule over or under the recommended number at midnight tonight. In following the guide sheet, I am also

entitled to any bonuses that I have earned.

Date Patient’s Signature

Staff’s Signature

Figure 4 shows the effects of contingency contracting on drug intake

of six subjects (F-3, F-7, F-8, F-10, F-11, and F-12). All were females with confirmed histories of sedative abuse. The graphs along

the left side of the figure show the subjects’ mean daily drug intake

over the last three days of self-administration. Pentobarbital intake

of subjects ranged from 400-1000 mg/day, a level typically capable of

producing physiological dependence. At the start of detoxification,

phenobarbital was substituted for pentobarbital (15 mg phenobarbital

49
equivalent to 50 mg pentobarbital) for three days of self-administration. Subjects were then given points for successfully reducing their

drug intake by one 15 mg phenobarbital capsule each day, but lost points

for remaining at a given level for more than two days, increasing their

drug intake, or reducing their intake by more than one capsule per day.

50
The results are shown in the middle column of graphs in the figure.

No subject reduced drug intake at a rate greater than one capsule per

day. Most subjects (F-3, F-7, F-8 and F-10) met the contract contingencies, reducing their drug intake by one capsule per day until detoxification was complete. This required longer for some subjects

than for others, because of differences in initial levels of drug intake. One subject (F-12) remained at the same drug level for two days

but otherwise showed consistent reductions in drug intake. At no time

did these subjects increase their level of drug intake, although the

original maintenance dose of drug was freely available to the subject

each day for self-administration. The final subject (F-11) showed

consistent decreases in drug intake over the first six days of detoxification, but thereafter showed no further decrease. Drug self-administration did not return to pre-detoxification level, however, but

remained at about one-half the original level. Detoxification was completed for this subject by restricting drug access. Later followup

showed this patient had returned to drug use, although no drug use

was found in the five subjects successfully completing the self-detoxification procedure. (See graphs on right side of Figure 4.)

Two other subjects have undergone sedative detoxification using pentobarbital as the withdrawal drug. Both successfully decreased drug

intake by one capsule per day until detoxification was complete, without remaining at the same dose for more than two successive days, increasing their drug intake, or decreasing their intake too rapidiy.

One of these subjects was self-administering a mean of 1000 mg of pentobarbital per day prior to the start of withdrawal. Three additional

subjects successfully completed sedative self-detoxification with diazepam, decreasing drug intake by one capsule per day throughout the withdrawal procedure. While both of the pentobarbital subjects showed

evidence of drug use during the first six weeks after hospital discharge

none of the three diazepam subjects showed evidence of drug use during

this time.

Interpretation of the results should be guarded, however. They do not

necessarily indicate that the reduction in drug intake obtained during

the detoxification period was due to the contingency imposed by the

contingency contract. The reduction may have been due, in fact, to

the information supplied in the document. Telling a person that detoxification can be safely accomplished by a reduction of one capsule per

day in drug intake may be sufficient to explain the obtained effect.

To show that the effect was due to the contingency relation, a control

group must be employed which gets the same information that is given

in the contract, but without a contingency placed on drug intake and

the gain or loss of points.

More data are needed to determine if self-detoxification offers advantages over other forms of detoxification in terms of avoiding future

relapse to drug use. This finding would have definite implications in

the treatment of smoking and obesity as well. Research is also needed

to determine which sedative drug is most effective behaviorally as the

detoxifying agent, in that some drugs may yield more reliable reductions in drug intake than others, and thus produce more successful

self-detoxification results. Using food as-an analogy, reductions of

caloric intake might be accomplished more easily if the subject’s diet

is restricted to relatively unpreferred foods as opposed to highly

51
FIGURE 5

SEDATIVE OUTPATIENT CONTRACT

The purpose of this agreement is to assist in establishing new behavior which is incompatible with drug use. To accomplish this goal,

she will need the cooperation of since it is recognized

that her problem is, in reality, their problem and that both must work together

in its solution. This agreement is attempt to allow both individuals to gain

significantly from drug abstinence, but jointly lose if she,

the wife, fails to do so. It is believed that in this way, each will become more

aware of the needs and actions of the other, in particular as they relate to the

problem of drug use.

For Patient:

I, , understand that I will be allowed

to exercise the Compromise Agreement without qualification for one week after

my hospital discharge. Thereafter, I agree to return to Station 61, University

Hospitals, on at each week for

weeks starting on for the purpose of meeting with

the station staff and allowing a blood sample to be obtained. I understand that

a chemical test will be performed on the blood sample to determine the presence

or absence of sedative or other drugs, and that the results of this test will be

made known to me on the following day. I understand that if the result of the

test shows no evidence of drug use during a given week, I will be allowed to

exercise the Compromise Agreement for the following week. I further understand

that if the chemical test shows positive evidence of drug use, I will not be allosed to exercise the Compromise Agreement for the following week. I also agree

to report promptly and honestly all failures on the part of my husband to honor

the Compromise Agreement, when such is in effect as defined by the terms of this

contract.

For Spouse:

I, , agree to write personal

checks for $ each, payable to

, and to leave the checks with the station staff at

the time of my wife's discharge. I agree not to stop payment on the checks for

any reason. I also agree to allow my wife to exercise the Compromise Agreement

without qualification for the first week after her hospital discharge, and that

I will assist her as necessary in returning to Station 61 each week for the

blood tests. I understand that if the result of my wife's blood test shows positive evidence of drug use, or if for any reason I fail to abide by the Compromise

Agreement according to the terms of this contract, I will forfeit one of my checks

by having it sent by the station staff to the above organization as a contribution

in my name. In such an event, however, I will be under no obligation to abide

by the Compromise Agreement during the following week. I am aware that failure

of my wife to appear at the scheduled time for the blood test will be considered

by the staff as positive evidence of drug use and will be treated accordingly.

We enter into this

forth in this contract.

agreement in good faith, and agree to honor all terms as set

Date Patient's Signature

Spouse's Signature

Staff's Signature

Staff's Signature

Telephone number for reporting blood test results to patient:

Dates of blood tests:

Station telephone number:

52
preferred foods. The same may also be true with smoking, in that it

may be easier to quit smoking if the person is smoking cigarettes with

low nicotine content rather than with high nicotine content.

Contingency contracts are also used in our program to provide a gradual

transition from the highly controlled environment of the hospital ward

to the less controlled environment of the outside world. The purpose

of these contracts is to help insure that the patient will remain drug-

-free during the critical first six weeks after hospital discharge.

If the patient’s spouse is expected to sabotage the patient’s efforts

to remain drug-free, he or she is also included in the contract. A

contract is then arranged so that both parties gain from the patient’s

drug abstinence, while both parties lose from the patient’s drug use.

Since points can no longer be used, other reinforcers must be found.

One highly effective reinforcer we have found for some of our patients is

a change in the behavior of their spouse. When the patient has decided

on the aspect of the spouse’s behavior to be changed, the spouse is contacted and asked to make the desired change in behavior contingent on the

patient’s abstinence from drug use. If the spouse agrees, then the patient purchases the behavior change from the spouse each week by avoiding

drug use. If the spouse does not agree, a compromise agreement is sought

or other reinforcers must be found. If we suspect the spouse will not

honor the terms of the contract, a monetary deposit is requested, which

the spouse then earns back by honoring the contractual agreement (Boudin

1972). An example of a contingency contract used with married, middle-

-aged women with drug-abuse problems is shown in Figure 5.

Since similar behavioral processes are involved in drug abuse, alcoholism,

smoking, and obesity, the techniques that prove effective in reducing

drug and alcohol use may be effective in reducing smoking and over-

-eating as well. We have had success in reducing smoking by charging

patients points for each cigarette smoked and awarding points for waiting longer between cigarettes. We have also accomplished weight loss

in patients by teaching calorie-counting and giving points for each

pound of weight loss. Finally, Elke Eckert has been treating anorexia

nervosa successfully on our ward for several years with behavioral

techniques. If this eating disorder is also an instance of substance

abuse, it would be interesting to determine if the same techniques

that are effective in accomplishing weight gain would also be effective

in accomplishing weight loss.

REFERENCES

Ayllon, T., and Azrin, N.H. The Token Economy. New York: AppletonCentury-Crofts, 1965.

Boudin, H.M. Contingency contracting as a therapeutic tool in the deceleration of amphetamine use. Beh. Ther., 3:604-608, 1972.

Eckert , Elke. Personal Communication.

Miller. W.R., and Munoz, R.F. How to Control Your Drinking. Englewood

Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1976.

53
Phillips, E.L. Achievement place: Token reinforcement procedures in

a home-style rehabilitation setting for "pre-delinquent" boys. J. Appl.

Beh. Anal., 1:213-223, 1968.

Pickens, R., Cunningham, M., Heston, L., Eckert, E., and Gustafson, L.

Dose preference during pentobarbital self-administration by humans.

J. Pharm. Exp. Ther., 203:310-318, 1977.

Pickens, R., Errickson, E., Thompson, T., Heston, L., and Eckert, E.

MMPI correlates of performance on a behavior therapy ward. Behav.

Res. and Ther., 1978, in press.

Thompson, T., and Grabowski, J. Behavior Modification for the Mentally

Retarded. New York: Oxford Press, 1972.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported by Grant DA-00939 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and by Special Appropriation in Psychiatry, State

of Minnesota. Marilyn Cunningham, Elke Eckert, Eric Errickson,

Leonard Heston, Juanita Jaessing, Richard Meisch, and Travis Thompson

were involved in design and implementation of the project.

AUTHOR

Roy Pickens, Ph.D.

Psychiatry Research Unit

Mayo Box 392

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455

54
Chapter 5

The Abstinence Phobia

Sharon M. Hall, Ph.D.

This paper presents some thoughts about and data related to new

therapeutic approaches to "reaching zero dose," a task fraught with

difficulty for many who misuse substances.

DETOXIFICATION FROM HEROIN USING CONTINGENT PAYMENT

There is general agreement that outpatient detoxification from heroin

has three treatment goals: 1) termination of heroin use, 2) completion

of detoxification, 3) and entrance into longer term rehabilitation

treatments.

Outcome data are sparse. However, those data available indicate few

clients, generally between 3 and 20 percent, terminate heroin use during

detoxification treatment (Wilson, Elms, and Thompson 1975; Sheffet,

Quinones, Lavenhar, Doyle and Praeger 1976). Treatment completion rates

(defined as attending clinic for the prescribed number of days) are

generally less than 40 percent (Wilson et al. 1975; Guess and Tuchfeld

1977). With failure to meet these first basic treatment goals it is

not surprising that only very rarely do clients enter into more intensive rehabilitation after detoxification (Sheffet et al. 1976). Our

project aimed at improving outcome with respect to the first two

goals of detoxification (Hall, Bass, Hargreaves and Loeb 1978).

We used a contingency system that combined payment for desired outcome

with feedback about treatment progress. Subjects could earn up to

55 dollars for morphine-and barbiturate-free urines ("drug-free urines”)

during detoxification and for completing detoxification.

The subjects were 81 clients recruited from the Outpatient Methadone

Detoxification Clinic at San Francisco General Hospital, which was

the only detoxification clinic providing methadone-assisted detoxification from heroin in the city of San Francisco. The clinic, therefore, drew from the entire city and attracted a varied population of

clients. We attempted to recruit 85 clients. Only four clients refused

to participate, so the sample was representative of the detoxification

clinic population.

The clinic provided a 16-day detoxification regimen with gradually

decreasing doses of methadone (40 milligrams in split doses on day one

to 5 milligrams on day 16).

55
Subjects ware recruited into the study on the first day of treatment.

If they agreed to participate, they completed assessment instruments

and were randomly assigned either to the standard treatment control or

the contingent payment group. Control subjects were simply asked to

leave a urine specimen daily and were paid one dollar for each urine

given. In the contingent payment condition, subjects were paid for

drug-free urines left on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Urines left

on Tuesdays and Thursdays were not eligible for payment, providing a

within-group comparison. Payment was arranged so that it was highest

on days when the probability of drug-free urines was the lowest, according to earlier data obtained from the clinic. The sequence of potential payments was thus arranged from $10 to $4, with the highest payments

at beginning and end of treatment and the smallest payments in the

middle of treatment. Subjects ware paid $15 to complete detoxification.

In both groups, to be assured the urines received from subjects were

valid, the urines were tested for methadone as well as for morphine and

barbiturates. A urine had to be positive for methadone and negative

for other opiates and barbiturates in order to be eligible for payment.

We also used a variant of the temperature verification method to guard

against substitute urines (Judson, Himmelberger and Goldstein, personal

communication).

An analysis of covariance with number of urines given as the dependent

variable indicated that contingent payment subjects produced significantly more drug-free urines than standard treatment subjects (F=4.56,

df=1/78, p<.05). These results are shown in figure 1. For nonpaid

days, differences between contingent payment and the standard treatment

control were not significant (F=2.61, df=1/78). The data for nonpaid

days are shown in figure 2.

As these results indicate, we found we could influence heroin use by

payment, and by relatively small payments at that. However, a more

important question, and one that is central todetoxification ampletion, is whether or not clients terminate heroin use during treatment.

we assessed this by examining length of sequence of drug-free days

clients ware able to attain in the two conditions: frequencies with

which subjects were able to obtain either zero drug-free days, 1-4 drugfree days, 5-8 drug-free days, or 9-11 drug-free days in each treatment condition were compared. As table 1 indicates, differences between

the two conditions were significant (X2=13.08).

TABLE 1

FREQUENCY OF MORPHINE/BARBITURATE-FREE URINES BY TREATMENT CONDITIONS

EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS

DAYS CONTINGENT PAYMENT STANDARD TREATMENT

56
Especially notable is the finding that subjects in the contingent payment condition were able to obtain relatively long sequences of drugfree days (5-8 days) as compared to the control condition. Subjects in

the latter condition were more likely to obtain relatively short sequences of drug-free days (1-4, if any at all). These data indicate

that clients attained some period of heroin abstinence via contingent payment. In light of the treatment completion data discussed

below, it occured to me to reconsider the data with respect to abstinence at treatment termination as a second criterion for abstention.

We arbitrarily chose five abstinent days at the end of treatment as the

criterion for termination of heroin use. Here, the results are less

impressive. Two of the control subjects and five of the experimental

subjects were able to meet this criterion.

The failure of the subjects to abstain near the end of treatment may

be reflected in the treatment completion data. Contingent payment

subjects had lower premature termination rates (62.5 percent) than

standard treatment subjects (51 percent) but the differences were not

statistically significant (X2=1.09, df=2). A life table analysis indicated essentially no difference in proportion of terminators in each

condition during days 1-14 (t<1, all days). On days 15-16 differences

were noted but were of marginal significance (t=1.13, df=79, p<.15 and

probably are not of clinical importance. The retention curves for the

two treatments are shown in figure 3.

PAID URINE TEST DAYS

Percent Drug-Free Urines

For Contingent Payment and Standard Treatment Controls

On Paid Urine Test Days

57

300-345 0 - 79 - 5
FIGURE 2

NON-PAID URINE TEST DAYS

Percent Drug-Free Urines for Contingent Payment and Standard

Treatment Controls on Non-Paid Urine Test Days

5 8
DAYS IN TREATMENT

Probability of Remaining in Treatment For Contingent Payment

Standard Treatment Controls As a Function of Days in Treatment
In summary, we were able to influence heroin use but did not produce

termination of heroin use or significantly higher treatment completion

rates.

It was unfortunate that data on anxiety or emotional changes were not

collected, for we observed a common pattern in clinic patients as detoxification progressed that shed some light on the failure to become

abstinent at treatment termination. Repeatedly clients who had been

abstinent throughout treatment, as treatment ended and low doses of

methadone were reached, became increasingly anxious about the mild withdrawal symptoms they were experiencing, and about their fate after

detoxification. These observations, and later clinical experience with

the same population, led me to search the literature on changes in

anxiety during detoxification from heroin, but I met with little success.

I did, however, find a literature on the processes occuring during

detoxification from methadone maintenance. The remainder of the data are

from studies of patients detoxifying from methadone maintenance. I

suspect these data are applicable in principle to heroin detoxification.

ANXIETY AND DETOXIFICATION

Reports on methadone maintenance uniformly indicate emergence of a

particular symptom complex as tapering proceeds. The symptoms can be

divided into three categories: the first includes smarting eyes,

increased lacrimation and rhinorrhea (Muskelly 1972; Mintz, O'Brien,

O'Hare and Goldschmidt 1975). These symptoms are clearly somatic in

origin: it is hard to see how they would be influenced by psychological

states. Their importance in relapse is questionable. We do not often

hear an addict report resumption of heroin use due to a runny nose.

A second diverse class of symptoms includes anorexia (Muskelly 1972;

Kremen and Bayer 1973), impotence (Riordan and Rapkin 1972; Muskelly

1972), sleeplessness and nausea (Muskelly 1972; Riordan and Rapkin

1972; Cushman and Dole 1973; Kreman and Bayer 1973; Rasnick et al. 1975).

We can argue that these symptoms are exacerbated by, if not caused by,

anxiety. Anxiety itself is among the most commonly reported symptoms

of methadone detoxification (Muskelly 1972; Riordan and Rapkin 1972;

Cushman and Dole 1973; Kreman and Bayer 1973). It may take the form

of a general constant heightened level of anxiety or acute anxiety

attacks (Riordan and Rapkin 1972). It is indicated indirectly in

many ways - for example, by increased irritability, and increased

alcohol intake (Muskelly 1972; Riordan and Rapkin 1972; Mezritz et

al. 1975). We also have evidence from controlled studies that much of

the discomfort experienced during detoxification from methadone is the

result of expectations and anxieties about detoxification rather than

dose-related (Seney, Dorus, Goldberg and Thorton 1977).

Given the anxiety accompanying detoxification, it is not surprising that

zero dose is reached only by a minority of detoxifying clients; for

example, one study which sampled from two methadone maintenance clinics

at San Francisco found 35 percent of the clients labeled themselves as

detoxifying from methadone, but such individuals did not differ from

nondetoxifying clients in dose changes over a four-month period, even

in conditions where they were given the opportunity to self-regulate

dose or ware given incentives for dose reduction (Havassy, Hargreaves and

De Barros, in press). These experimental results coincide with several

60
clinical reports which indicate successful detoxification is the exception, not the rule: generally between 25-40 percent of detoxifying

clients reach zero dose (Riordan and Rapkin 1972; Chappel et al. 1973,

Kremen and Bayer 1973: Stimmel, Rubin and Engel 1973; Rubin and Stimmel

1974; Brown et al. 1975; Resnick et al. 1975). In light of these two

phenomena - heightened anxiety and avoidance of zero dose - it seems

reasonable to propose that excessive anxiety about becoming drug free,

the "abstinence phobia," is a block to detoxifying for many addicts. .

THE ABSTIENCE PHOBIA

Based on clinical experience and the available data, the anxiety that

detoxifying methadone maintenance clients experience can be divided into

at least two components. These are shown in figure 4.

FIGURE 4

Two Components of the Abstinence Phobia

In Tapering methadone Maintenance Clients

The first component is overreaction to relatively mild withdrawal

symptoms. this may occur because such mild symptoms have previously

been followed by severe withdrawal (e.g. due to forced withdrawal in

jail), because of models, or because of the tremendous amount of misinformation that circulates on the streets about drug effects. A second

component is related to becoming drug-free. This component reflects the

severe lack of effective social and interpersonal skills addicts experience. To some extent it is also related to the experience of the

sensations of the normal state as strange and anxiety-provoking when one

has used a strong narcotic for a long period of time. Also involved may

be a lack of skills for coping with emotions; since emotions are blunted

by the opiate, the addict may never learn, or may lose through disuse,

skills and cognitive mechanisms to control anger, anxiety, or other

unpleasant emotions.

61
Following the model of a phobia, it would seem that the strength of the

abstinence phobia should differ at different tines (e.g., as the client

gets closer to zero dose) and also differ with respect to the cues that

elicit it. Treatments must be designed to deal with these appropriately.

As an initial effort, we can break the process of detoxifying for methadone clients into three stages. These are shown in table 2.

TABLE 2

,

Stages of Detoxification in Methadone Maintenance Clients

STAGE

Early Detoxification

Middle Detoxification

Late Detoxification

CHARACTERISTICS INTERVENTIONS

Client identifies self 1. relaxation training

as detoxifying & other anxiety

(Variable dose) reduction

Anxiety diffuse

Clients feel mild

withdrawal symptoms

(20 mg.)

Anxiety about withdrawal symptoms

prepotent

Dose has minimal pharmacological effects

for tolerant users

(5 mg)

Anxieties about being

Drug free Prepotent

2. Dose reduction

Planning

3 . Rethinking withdrawal symptons.

4 . Begin vocational 

rehabilitation,

if needed

continue 1-4

5. Assertion & other

social interperson

al skills training.

6. Drug holidays

7. Follow up support

In the first stage, "early detoxification", clients simply identify

themselves as detoxifying. Anxiety is relatively mild and non focused

because zero dose is so far away. At this point, relaxation training,

planning for dose reduction, and ways of redefining withdrawal symptoms

should be introduced as an aid to move clients into the next stage.

Long term treatment planning is also important at this stage. Therapeutic modalities which take a long tine to bear fruit such as vocational rehabilitation, e.g., Hall et al. 1977) should be introduced.

All of our work to date relates to stage one. At second stage, "middle

detoxification," clients enter into that dose level (some say below 20

milligrams) that usually elicits initial signs of the abstinence phobia,

especially those components related to mild withdrawal. At this point

treatment emphasizes redefinition of withdrawal symptoms. At this point

also we would assumes that the client would be motivated to develop

life skills such as those provided by assertiveness training. The final

stage is late detoxification. Here, methadone dose has reached that

level where it has minimal pharmcological results for tolerant individuals. The dose is probably somewhere between 0 and 5 milligrams. Treat62
treatment would emphasize a continuation of skill training and techniques

targeted at the drug free state: for example, "drug holidays" - i.e.

short periods such as one to two days the client goes without methadone and is given therapeutic assistance in handling the effects of

being drug free.

PILOT STUDY RESULTS

We have piloted a treatment package to enhance dose reduction during

stage 1. We plan shortly to have a controlled trial comparing this

treatment with a nonspecific treatment condition. The three elements of

the pilot treatment program are: 1) Redefinition of withdrawal symptoms:

We assume that anxiety is generated by the client's interpretation of the

somatic changes accompanying decreasing doses as uncontrollable , and as

symptoms of illness or precursors of catastrophic changes. During treatmet subjects are encouraged to think about increases in aches and pains

and to some extent increases in anxiety as normal~butseemingabnormdl

because of the subject's previously narcoticized state. The ultimate

controllability of the symptoms emphasized, particularly via anxiety

reduction and also via assurances that treatment will only be terminated voluntarily. 2) Intensive relaxation training: We use cognitive

relaxation training (Beary, Benson and Klemchuck 1974) because it seems

to have a good degree of client acceptability. Progressive muscle relaxation (Jacobsen 1938) is also included, primarily to increase the subject's awareness of the difference between tense and relaxed states.

3) Anxiety-cued relaxation: Relaxation is a goal in itself but is also

used as a self-control device when anxiety occurs. Clients are taught

to recognize cues and situations related to anxiety and to practice the

relaxation response when confronted with these cues.

Results of a pilot trial of these methods are shown in figure 5.

Methadone Dose Reduction in Treatment

Condition and Nominated Matched Controls

63
As figure 5 shows, treatment subjects decrease their methadone doses at

the rate of about 3 percent a week. When these results are compared with

nonrecruited, matched control subjects who also state that they are detoxifying, we note the inability of such subjects to reduce their dose

and significant differences between the two groups (analysis of covariance with initial dose as covariate F=4.52, df=1/12, p<.05). Also, in

spite of decreased methadone dose, treatment subjects did not increase

heroin abuse from baseline to the end of treatment (t<1) and did not

differ from control subjects (F<1).

THE ABSTINENCE PHOBIA AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE

I would like to propose that we observe "abstinence phobias" in many

substance users and abusers wherever they seek to reduce or abstain from

substance use, particularly when abstention is the goal, since this is

cognitively a more drastic change than reduced use. Across substances,

anxiety about abstention should be a problem to the extent to which severe withdrawal symptoms occur or are believed to occur and /or to the

extent that use of the substance somehow interferes with learning of

important interpersonal and social skills. It should be greatest in

heroin addicts, somewhat less but still present in specific subgroups

of alcoholics (the "bar culture" may have specific rules and rites,

much like street culture) and probably of least importance with cigarette smokers. A similar process may also be operative in obese people

who attempt to lose weight. I have seen obese clients in clinical situations who plateaued at a weight greater than desired. They did not

have the social skills to handle a normal body size, especially those

skills needed to handle sexual advances, and admitted to fears about

this social deficit and its consequences. These clients had to be

desensitized to changes in body image and given social skills training before they could continue weight loss.

I would suggest abstinence phobia will be greatest the goal is

abstinence rather than controlled use because the cognitive change is

greatest. For some individuals, periods of controlled substance use may

provide an informal desensitization to, and skills training in, dealing

with the world in a different chemical state. For example, some controlled drinkers who are abstinent at followup in controlled drinking

studies may well use this period to desensitize themselves to situations

where they previously used alcohol. This leads to the suggestion that,

even when the treatment goal is abstinence, a period of controlled use

might be useful to provide desensitization, especially if relearning

experiences are programmed in rather than left to occur haphazardly.

A final implication is that it may be advantageous to deal with these

anxieties prior to abstinence. Maintenance may often be poor because

anxiety is so great during initial abstinence that performance of

adaptive skills is inhibited.

This model reflects a general orientation which assumes specific symptoms

and correlates of a disorder must be taken into account when behavioral

treatments are designed (Hall 1978). In many respects behavioral

psychologists have taken the opposite course from, others in the health

fields who tend to emphasize studying one particular disease syndrome

rather than looking at principles applicable across disorders. We have

generally developed multimodal programs based on behavioral principles

and attenpted to apply these programs to many disorders with little

64
understanding of the reality of each disorder. As a result, clients

are asked to participate in time consuming treatments only a few

components of which are effective. We thereby lose our credibility and our clients are put on a partial reinforcement schedule, which

is not strong enough to maintain adherence, especially after treatment

is terminated. Adherence to behavioral treatments during maintenance

can be conceptualized as adherence to a health regimen (Hall 1978).

This conceptualization leads to an examination of the medical compliance Literature, which indicates that the simpler the selfadministered treatment, the higher the probability of compliance, and the more immediate and salient the beneficial change experienced, the higher is the probability of continued adherence (Kasl 1975). Our current treatments are

devised so that neither simplicity nor immediate change as

frequently as it should. We would do well to keep this in mind as we

try to increase the effectiveness of our treatment programs in the

future.

REFERENCES

Beary J.F., Bensen, H. with Klemcheck, H.P. A simple psychophysiological technique which elicits the hypometabolic changes of the relaxation

response. Psychosom Med, 1974, 36: 115-120.

Brown, E.M., Benanta, M., Greenberg, M. and MacArther, M. Studies of

methadone terminations Brit J Addict, 1975, 70: 83-88.

Chappel, J.N., Skolnick, V.B. and Senay, E.C. Techniques of withdrawal

from methadone and their outcome over six months to two years. Proceedings Fifth National Conferences of Methadone Treatment, 1973, 5:

482-489.

Cushman, P. and Dole, V.P. Detoxification of well rehabilitated methadone maintained patients. Proceedings Fifth National conference

on methadone Maintenance, 1973, 5: 262-269.

Guess, L.L. and Tuchfeld, B.S. Manual for Drug Abuse Treatment Program

Self Evaluation Supplement II: CODAP Tables. National Institute on

Drug Abuse, 1977.

Hall, S.M. Self-management and maintaining therapeutic change. In

Karoly, P. and Steffan, J. (Eds.) Modification and Metamorphasis: Maintenance of Therapeutic change. New York: Gardner, 1978, in press.

Hall, S.M., Bass, A., Hargreaves, W.A., and Loeb, P. Contingencies and

information feedback in outpatient heroin detoxification. Unpublished

manuscript, university of California - San Francisco, 1978.

Hall, S.M., Norton, J., Loeb, P., and Yang, R. Increasing Vocational

placement in drug treatment clients: A pilot study. Addict Behav,

1977, 15: 438-441.

Havassy, B. Hargreaves, W.A. and De Barros, L. Self-regulation of

dose in methadone maintenance with contingent privileges. In press,

Addict Behav.

65
Jacobsen, E. You Must Relax, 1938, Chicago: University of Chicago

Press, 1938.

Kasl, S.V. Social psychological characteristics of behaviors which

reduce cardiovascular risk. In A.J. Enelow and J.B. Henderson (Eds.)

Applying Behavioral Science to Cardiovascular Risk, Seattle: American

Heart Association, 1975, 173-190.

Kremen, E. and Bayer, R. New choices form methadone maintenance patients

Planned, voluntary, long-term detoxification. Proceedings Fifth

National Conference on Methadone Treatment, 1973, 1: 667-674.

Mazritz, M., Slobetz, F., Kleber, H. and Riordan, C. A follow up Study

of successfully detoxified methadone maintenance patients. In E. Senay,

V. Shorty and H. Alksne (Eds.) Developments in the Field of Drug Abuse,

Cambridge: Schenkman, 1975, 336-343.

Mintz, J., O'Brien, C.P., O'Hare, K., and Goldschmidt, J. Double bind

detoxification of methadone maintenence patients. Intern J Addict,

1975, 10: 815-824.

Muskelly, T.E. Motivationals and their relationship to methadone maintenance withdrawal problems. Proceedings 'Fourth' National Conference on

Methadone Treatment, 1972, 177-179.

Resnick, R., Destenbaum, R., Gaztanaga, P., Volanka, J. and Freedman 

A. Experimental techniques for rapid withdrawal from methadone maintenance

Results of pilot trials. In E. Senay, V. Shorty and H. Alskne

(Eds.) Developments in the Field of Drug Abuse, Cambridge: schenkman,

1975.

Riordan, C.E. and Rapkin, R. Detoxification as a final step in treating

the successful long term methadone patient. Proceedings Fourth National

conference on methadone Treatment, 1972, 219-221.

Rubin, J. and Stimmel. B. A follow-up of patients discharged from

methadone maintenance. In E. Senay, V. Shorty and H. Alksne (Eds.)

Developments in the Field of Drug Abuse. Cambridge: Schenkman, 1974,

171-176.

Senay, E., Dorus, W., Goldberg, F., and Thorton, W. Withdrawal from

methadone maintenance. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 1977, 34: 361-367.

Sheffet, A., Quinones, M., Lavenhar, M.E., Doyle, K. and Praeger, C.

An evaluation of detoxification as an initial step in the treatment of

heroin addiction. Am J Psychiatry, 1976, 270-274.

Stinmel, B., Rubin, J. and Engel; C. The prognosis of patients detoxified from methadone maintenance: A follow-up study. Proceedings Fifth

National conference on methadone Maintenance, 1973, 270-274.

Wilson, B.D., Elms, R.R. and Thompson, C.P. Outpatient versus hospital

methadone detoxification: An experimental comparison Intern J Addict,

1975, 10: 13-21.

66
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Research reported here and preparation of the manuscript were supported

by Program Project Grant DA 4RGO12 and by Demonstration Grant 1181

DA 01978, both from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

AUTHOR

Sharon M. Hall, Ph.D.

University of California - San Francisco,

Langley Porter Institute

San Francisco, California 94143

67
Chapter 6

Reinforcement of Drug Abstinence:

A Behavioral Approach to Drug

Abuse Treatment

Maxine L. Stitzer, Ph.D., George E. Bigelow, Ph.D.,

and Ira Liebson. M.D.

BACKGROUND

The defining behaviors in drug and substance abuse, those which

we seek to modify in treatment, involve the acquisition and ingestion of drugs. Drug use may be influenced indirectly by focusing

therapeutic efforts on the teaching of skills which may result

in improved social, personal and emotional adjustment of addicts.

Alternatively, drug use may be influenced by focusing treatment interventions directly on drug acquisition and ingestion behaviors. This

paper will discuss a direct approach to the treatment of drug abuse,

namely the use of abstinence incentives or contingent reinforcement

procedures to promote reductions in drug use. Abstinence incentive

Interventions derive from an operant behavioral approach to the analysis and treatment of substance abuse. Such an approach seeks to

.alter behavior by altering the environmental consequences which maintain and support the behavior. In the present case, environmental

consequences of drug use are manipulated by offering incentives or

positive reinforcement for drug abstinence.

This discussion will proceed in three parts. First we will present

a review of previous research which has utilized contingency management or reinforcement procedures to treat drug and substance abuse.

Second, data will be presented concerning the efficacy of abstinence

incentives to promote reductions in supplemental drug use among methadone maintenance clients; these data were gathered within a methadone

maintenance outpatient clinic as part of a treatment research project

seeking to identify variables that control and modify drug use in order to develop more effective treatment interventions. Third and

finally, abstinence incentives or reinforcement procedures will be

discussed in terms of their practical and conceptual implications

for drug abuse and substance abuse treatment.

Contingency Management in Substance Abuse Treatment

There are ample precedents for the use of operant behavioral approaches in the treatment of mental health and substance abuse problems.

Originally, contingency management procedures were developed in the

68
form of token economies for use in hospital wards and other institutional settings where staff attention, institutional privileges, and

goods and services are readily available for use in contingent arrangements to promote therapeutic behavioral change. In these institutional

settings, behavior modification techniques have been employed to promote socially productive and acceptable behaviors among schizophrenic

and mentally retarded individuals with gross behavioral deficits (Birnbrauer 1976; Paul and lentz. 1977; Stahl and Leitenberg 1976; Thompson

and Grabowski 1977). Fran these beginnings, contingency management

techniques have spread to all levels of mental health care from psychotherapy to self-help manuals as well as to industrial and educational

settings. Thus, these techniques have been used successfully to pronote improved social and personal adjustment in juvenile- delinquents

(Burchard and Harig 1976), used in classman settings both to modify

inappropriate or disruptive behavior of students and to improve academic performance (O'Leary and O'Ieary 1976). and used in the ham. both

as an aid to child rearing and discipline (Birnbrauer 1976. Foxx and

Azrin 1974; Whaler 1976) and as an adjunct in marital rehabilitation

(Patterson et al. 1976); Behavioral contingency management procedures have also been incorporated into treatment of various types of

substance abuse problems including obesity (Stuart and Davis 1972;

Stunkard and Mahoney 1976), cigarette smoking (Bernstein and McAlister

1976; Pomerleau and Pomerleau 1977), alcoholism (Miller 1976; Nathan

1976) and drug abuse (Gotestam et al. 1975; Bigelow et al. 1978).

In the area of narcotics drug abuse, methadone maintenance has been

the treatment of choice for a number of years; however, the need for

ancillary therapy for addicts in addition to methadone is repeatedly

emphasized (Brill and Chambers 1973; Dole and Nyswander 1976; Goldstein 1976). Contingency .management procedures have been applied

occasionally to encourage improved social and personal adjustment

among addicts. Several investigators have utilized token economies or

less structured contingency management program to promote improved

behaviors with addict populations on inpatient hospital wards (Ericksson et al. 1975; Glicksman et al. 1971; Melin et al. 1975; O'Brien et

al. 197I). Thus, for example, in a study by Melin et al. (1975), narcotics addicts undergoing methadone dose alterations during an inpatient stay could earn points which allowed then access to ward privileges. The point system promoted an increase in specified "socially

acceptable" behaviors such as getting up in the morning, attending

classes and ward meetings, and making one's bed. Contingency management

procedures have also been applied in the treatment of drug abuse

patients in outpatient settings. Boudin et al. (1977) have described

the use of contingency contracting to enhance socially acceptable behaviors in drug users, while Hall et al. (1977) and Bigelow et al.

(1976) report individual case studies in which contingency contracting

was used successfully with methadone maintenance clients for several

specific behavioral problems, and Stitzer et al. (1977) report use of

contingent reinforcement to improve counseling attendance among methadone maintenance clients. All of these studies have demonstrated that

contingent reinforcement techniques could be used with addict patients,

but they did not demonstrate the usefulness of these techniques when

targeted specifically on behaviors leading to drug ingestion.

69
Abstinence Incentives in Substance Abuse Treatment

Alcoholism

Of particular relevance to the present discussion are studies Which

have utilized abstinence incentives to promote reduced ingestion of

drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. The alcohol literature provides

some particularly elegant examples of controlled studies in Which contingency managenent and contingency contracting procedures have influenced substance use by altering its environmental consequences.

In controlled laboratory settings, alcohol consumption can be markedly

influenced by operant strategies. Money rewards (Cohen et al. 1971a),

the opportunity to participate in enriched environments (Cohen et al.

1971b_), and access to visitors or Weekend passes (Griffiths et al. 1978)

have been used as reinforcers for decreased drinking, While contingent access to social and activity reinforcers has been shown repeatedly to exert a marked effect on drinking (Bigelow et al. 1975; Griffiths et al. 1978). Operant techniques have also been applied successfully in outpatient situations. One study by Miller (1975), for

example, arranged to provide chronic skid row alcoholics With goods

and services at the Salvation Army and other cummunity agencies only

When they were abstinent from alcohol rather than When they Were drunk,

as was the usual case. This contingent arrangement resulted in marked

reductions in alcoholic drinking. In a case study, Miller et al. (1974)

used blood alcohol levels to assess drinking and reinforce nondrinking

in an alcoholic individual. A monetary incentive delivered for 0.00

blood alcohol readings during contingent phases of the study resulted

in marked reductions in drinking. Finally, a study by Hunt and Azrin

(1973) employed vigorous therapeutic interventions to improve Work,

marital, recreational, and social adjustment in a group of chronic alcoholics. Barked reductions in drinking which occurred in the experimental group were attributed to the contingent arrangements between

nondrinking and access to reinforcers, although these reductions could

also have been due to the enhancement of behaviors Which served as alternatives to smoking.

Smoking

Abstinence incentives have also been used to help people stop smoking.

Elliot and Tighe (1968) developed an abstinence incentive program in

Which smokers provided a monetary deposit Which was returned to then

over a 16-week period only if they maintained abstinence from tobacco

products. The program was highly successful, with 84% of smokers Who

participated achieving the 16 Weeks of abstinence. Winett (1973) demonstrated in a controlled study that When a money deposit Was returned

contingent upon reductions in smoking, this-resulted in better compliance to the smoking reduction schedule as well as higher abstinence rates than When deposits were returned simply for attendance at

group counseling and data collection sessions. 

Drug abuse

Drug abuse can also be influenced by contingencies. Boudin (1972) used

contingency contracting to influence drug use in an amphetamine abuser.

Hall et al. (1977) report a controlled case study in Which morphinefree urines of a methadone maintenance patient increased dramatically

70
during periods of time when various program privileges and incentives

were delivered contingent upon drug-free urine samples. Similarly,

Bigelow et al. (1976) present several case reports in which use of

either opiate or benzodiazepine drugs was influenced by providing

reinforcers contingent upon reductions in drug use. Thus, there are

several case reports in the drug abuse field as well as controlled

studies with other varieties of substance abuse which attest to the

efficacy of providing reinforcement directly contingent upon abstinence from or reductions in substance use.

Contingency management procedures, then, are potentially valuable tools

for treatment of substance abuse. These techniques may be particularly

valuable for providing ancillary treatment to drug abusers enrolled in

methadone maintenance clinics. The methadone clinic possesses several

natural advantages as a site for contingency management intervention

programs. First, these clinics tend to attract and maintain addicts

in treatment for relatively long periods of time, thus allowing for

long term treatment contact. Second, methadone clinics allow treatment to occur while the client continues to function in his or her

normal social and work environment. Finally, clinics provide a variety

of services and privileges which are available for use as reinforcers

in contingent therapeutic arrangements.

Methadone delivery itself is one very potent reinforcer available at

the treatment clinic. This was demonstrated in a study by Liebson

et al. (1973, 1978) in which the focus of intervention was excessive

alcohol drinking among a group of methadone maintenance clients. For

clients assigned to the experimental treatment, delivery of a full

daily methadone dose was contingent upon ingesting a dose of disulfiram

(Antabuse), while clients assigned to the noncontingent control procedure were given a supply of disulfiram and encouraged to take it on

their own. Differences in alcoholic drinking between the two groups

were dramatic and clearly demonstrated the efficacy of the methadone

dose as a reinforcer.

Two investigations (Stitzer and Bigelow 1978a; Yen 1974) used surveys

to identify program privileges other than methadone itself which might

serve as reinforcers for methadone maintenance clients. Potential

reinforcers identified in these survey studies included methadone takehome privileges, receiving money from the clinic, the opportunity to

self-regulate methadone dose on a single day, reduced urinalysis requirements, and recommendations for shortening length of probation.

Baldridge et al. (1974) describe use of take home privileges as a

reward for methadone maintenance clients who generally conform to

programguidelines and show little or no illicit drug use, but the

take-home privilege was not used to attempt to alter behavior' of

poorly performing program participants. Stitzer et al. (1977), however,

found that when weekend methadone take-home privileges were made contingent upon attendance at a weekly counseling session, the contingent

arrangement resulted in markedly improved attendance in a group of

originally poor attenders, while both Hall et al. (1977) and Bigelow

et al. (1976) used take-hane medication and other program privileges

in contingent arrangements to promote therapeutic changes in behavior

of methadone maintenance clients. Thus several potential reinforcers

are available at the methadone maintenance outpatient clinic, Some

with demonstrated efficacy in influencing specific target behaviors.

71
Since drug ingestion is ultimately the behavior of primary concern for

drug abuse treatment, it would seen particularly important to assess

in controlled studies the extent to which this behavior can be influenced by contingency management interventions. In addition to the

controlled case study of Ball et al. (1977), only one other controlled

study has evaluated the effects of offering clinic privileges contingent

upon reductions in drug use. In that study (Stitzer and Bigelow 1978b)

methadone maintenance clients with histories of chronic supplemental 

use of benzodiazepines were prescribed diazepam 20mg/day at the clinic

dispensary. The prescription substituted for at least a portion of

illicit benzodiazepine use and allowed experimental observation of and

control over this portion of drug use. During certain portions of the

experiment clients were offered a choice between continuing benzodiazepine use at the clinic or refusing available benzodiazepines in order

to obtain clinic privileges. When a single methadone take-hone privilege was offered, clients refused available diazepam on 88.8% of occasions. On the other hand, when clients were offered the opportunity to

regulate their own methadone dose for a single day by as much as +20mg,

diazepam was refused on only 30.3% of occasions. Under noncontingent

baseline conditions, diazepam was refused on only 4.4% of occasions.

Thus, when offered in a contingent arrangement, methadone take-home

privileges served as an effective reinforcer which influenced supplementary benzodiazepine use at the clinic, while opportunities for

single day dose self-regulation were less effective in this regard.

In the diazepam study discussed above, controlled drug self-administration at the clinic served as a model or prototype of drug ingestion

and allowed a controlled experimental evaluation of the influence of

treatment interventions. It would be critical, of course, to assess

the generality and applicability of these findings to a more natural

treatment situation. The research which will be described in the remainder of this paper represents an attempt to establish such generality by evaluating the impact on supplemental drug use of contingent

incentives offered to methadone maintenance clients for observable

reductions in drug use as revealed in urinalysis test results.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Reinforcement of Drug-Free Urinalysis: Opiates

Participants in the first treatment intervention study were methadone

maintenance clients who showed consistent morphine-positive urinalysis

test results, indicating that they continued to supplement their methadone with street heroin on a regular basis. Six clients were chosen

whose urines were morphine positive on at least 30% of twice weekly

urinalysis tests during a five-week prestudy period. Other demographic

characteristics of these clients are presented in table 1. During the

study, urine samples were collected twice weekly and tested using an

on-site EMT urinalysis system. Incentives were available for morphinefree urine tests during randomly selected weeks, while during other

weeks no consequences were attached to urine test results. Random

selection of incentive and no-incentive weeks was adjusted so that

there were never more than 3 consecutive weeks of a given type and so

that incentives were offered on about 50% of the weeks during an entire

study. Morphine-free urine samples delivered during a week when incentives were available resulted in a choice among three incentive

72

options: (1) a single methadone take-hone privilege, (2) $7.50 in cash,

(3) single day dose self-regulation opportunity (up to ±20mg). Incentives earned were delivered immediately after the urine test and two

incentive choices could be earned per week, on Monday and Friday.

Figure 1 shows percent of morphine-positive urine samples prior to the

study and during contingent and noncontingent study weeks for individual clients.. Although in two clients (JM & GL) overall opiate use

declined during the study, there was no noticeable differential impact

of incentives on opiate use during contingent and noncontingent Weeks.

The inability of incentives to influence supplementary heroin use in

this experiment attests to the stability and strength of habitual drugtaking behaviors. Nevertheless, it is possible that opiate use could

be altered by offering reinforcers With a higher intrinsic value.

A second experiment was initiated in Which the value of incentives was

increased. Four clients have participated to date, three of whom had

been exposed to incentive offers during the previous study. All experimental procedures were identical to those described above except

that morphine-free urine samples during contingent weeks resulted in a

choice between (1) two methadone take-hone doses, (a) $15.00 in cash,

(3) 2 single-day opportunities to self-regulate methadone dose by

±20 mg.

Figure 2 shows the percent of opiate-positive urine samples obtained

during five Weeks preceding the study and during contingent and noncontingent weeks of the study. All four clients showed generally reduced

levels of opiate use during the study as compared to prestudy levels.

In addition, three out of four subjects delivered fewer opiate-positive samples during incentive weeks than during no incentive weeks.

Thus, in three of four clients studied to date, abstinence incentives

have been effective in reducing supplementary opiate use.

An even more intensive intervention procedure Was initiated subsequently for client LW when it became apparent that twice weekly incentive offers Were not influencing his opiate use. During a three-week

period, LW was asked to give a urine sample every day. Each day

that the EMIT urinalysis test showed negative opiates the-client

received $30 in cash, Figure 3 shows the impact of this "super

incentive" on LW's urinalysis test results. A single opiate-positive

test was obtained on the first day of the super incentive offer. Subsequently, urinalysis tests were opiate free for the 18 Weeks shown

and have remained opiate free for an additional four months since.

This is in contrast to opiate positives observed on 50-80% of tests

during the 44 Weeks prior to the super incentive intervention. The

client reported that the money he earned gave him some temporary financial security Which allowed him to break off his involvements with

drug dealing temporarily. This in turn reduced the availability to

him of opiate drugs. Once he had made this temporary break, it became

easier to completely terminate involvement With drugs in order to

realize his own goal of remaining abstinent from heroin. The findings

with this subject are consistent With the notion that abstinence incentives can be effective if sufficient incentive values are employed.

Furthermore, the study had an unanticipated long term positive outcome

in that the client became totally abstinent from supplemental opiate

drugs. Although still in progress, these studies indicate that absti74
FIGURE 1

Results of twice-weekly urinalysis tests for opiates (morphine) in

six individual methadone maintenance clients. Open bars show percent

opiate (morphine) positive tests for ten consecutive prestudy urine

samples. Solid and hatched bars show percent opiate (morphine) positive tests during study weeks when contingent incentives were (solid

bars) or were not (hatched bars) available for morphine-free urine

samples. Numbers inside each bar indicate the number of urinalysis

tests used in determining percentages. A morphine-free urine sample

resulted in delivery to the client of either a single methadone takehome dose or $7.50 cash.

7 5
FIGURE 2

Results of twice weekly urinalysis tests for opiates (morphine) in four

individual methadone maintenance clients. Open bars show percent opiate

(morphine) positive tests for ten consecutive prestudy urine samples.

Solid and hatched bars show percent opiate (morphine) positive tests

during study weeks when contingent incentives were (solid bars) or were

not (hatched bars) available for morphine-free urine samples. Numbers

above each bar indicate the number of urinalysis tests used in determining percentages. A morphine-free urine sample resulted in delivery

to the client of either two methadone take home doses or $15.00 cash.

76
FIGURE 3

PERCENT OPIATE-POSITIVE URINE SAMPLES

Results of twice-weekly urinalysis. tests for opiates (morphine) in a

single client during 124 weeks of enrollment in methadone maintenance.

All urine samples collected from this client are included regardless

of study conditions in effect when samples were collected, but samples

are grouped for periods of time during which the client participated

in studies where contingent reinforcement was available for providing

morphine free urine tests. During single reinforcement and double

reinforcement studies, the client could earn incentives during

randomly selected weeks; during super reinforcement, the client earned

money daily for three consecutive weeks for providing morphine-free

urine samples. See text for details of studies in which this client

participated. Numbers to left of bars indicate the number of urinalysis tests included in determining percentages.

77
nence incentives are effective in reducing supplemental opiate use.

Furthermore, results of these studies suggest that effectiveness of

abstinence incentives may depend importantly upon the magnitude of incentives offered.

Reinforcement of Drug Free Urinalysis: Benzodiazepines

A concurrent experiment was undertaken to explore the use of contingent

incentives in clients whose primary supplemental drugs are benzodiazepines. Because benzodiazepines take two weeks or longer to clear

from the body following termination of their use, slightly different

methodologies were adapted to study the impact of contingent abstinence incentives on benzodiazepine use. First, the study utilized long

periods of incentive availability and unavailability to allow for a

clear picture of long term benzodiazepine use to Emerge. Secondly,

the EMIT urinalysis system was used to obtain semiquantitative measures

of benzodiazepine levels, which allowed the investigators to track

gradually reducing levels and to deliver reinforcers prior to obtaining urine samples which were totally benzodiazepine free.

Five clients have participated in studies where incentives were offered

for declining benzodiazepine urinalysis levels. These clients had long

histories of benzodiazepine use as revealed in clinical interviews, and

consistent positive benzodiazepine levels in urine screening tests.

Other demographic characteristics of study clients are shown in table 1..

Furthermore, all participants except KC had prescriptions for diazepam

20mg/day, available at the clinic dispensary, and had previously taken

part in studies where clinic privileges could be earned by refusing

prescribed diazepam at the clinic.

In the present study, incentives could be earned twice weekly by refusing diazepam at the clinic on 3 or 4 consecutive days, while in addition

providing urines in which benzodiazepine levels were lower than those

observed on the immediately preceding urinalysis test. It was explained to clients that they might earn some incentives by giving up benzodiazepine use intermittently but that if they wanted to obtain the

maximum number of incentives they would have to give up benzodiazepine

use entirely. Incentives were available on Monday and Friday imnediately following the on-site urine test. If eligible, clients could

chose one incentive from the following reinforcer menu: (1) single

methadone take-hone dose, (2) chance to self--regulate methadone dose

for a single day by as much as +20mg ,(3) $7.50 in cash. The exception

was CW, who chose from a reinforcer menu where each item was doubled

in value.

Figure 4 shows benzodiazepine urinalysis test results during contingent

and noncontingent portions of the study. All five clients achieved

benzodiazepine-free urines at least temporarily during contingent portions of the study. Client WB was benzodiazepine free for 17 consecutive tests, MC and CW for 8 consecutive tests each, PT was benzcdiazepine free on 4 consecutive tests, while KC achieved 4 intermittent benzodiazepine-free urine tests. Thus, since all these clients

had been consistently positive for benzodiazepines prior to the study,

abstinence incentives had sane positive impact on benzodiazepine use

in all clients when offered in contingent arrangements.

78
FIGURE 4

Results of once weekly

benzodiazepine urinalysis

tests in five individual

methadone maintenance

clients. Shown on the

vertical axis are readings

obtained on an EMIT urinalysis test system. Optical density readings obtained for the drug positive calibrator have been

subtracted from readings

obtained for the client

sample. Positive scores

fall above the horizontal

line and represent drugpositive samples while

negative scores fall

below the line and represent benzodiazepine-free

samples. Open data points

represent samples collected

during noncontingent portions of the study when no

consequences were attached

to urine results. Filled

data points represent

samples collected during

contingent portions of the

study when clients could

obtain reinforcers for

evidence of decelerating

benzodiazepine use. Data

collected during contingent

portions of the study are

also indicated by a bracket

above. small dots adjacent

to data points indicate

delivery of a reinforcer.

Along the bottom of each

graph are shown benzodiazepine positive (+) and

/negative (0) urine results

obtained for duplicate urine

samples by thin layer chromatography analysis at an independent laboratory. vertical

arrows in graphs of CW and PT

indicate cancellation of a

prescription for diazepam,

20 mg/day, which had been

available at the methadone

clinic dispensary.

79
Figure 4 also illustrates that factors other than contingent incentives can influence benzodiazepine drug use. Client MC, for example,

resumed use of benzodiazepines and other sedatives immediately after

the contingent portion of the study. His drug use was so vigorous

that he was hospitalized following an overdose. After this incident,

MC stopped his use of all sedative drugs and has remained drug free

for seven consecutive months. Clients CW and PT resumed their prescribed diazepam at the clinic dispensary either during (CW) or after

(PT) incentive availability. Diazepam prescriptions were subsequently

cancelled for these two clients at the points shown by an arrow in

Figure 4. Cancellation of the diazepam prescription produced a temporary decline in benzodiazepine use which resulted in 5 or 6 benzodiazepine-free urine tests for each of these clients, after which benzodiazepine use resumed and urinalysis test results again became positive.

Clients who participated in the benzodiazepine and opiate incentive

studies were similar in age, length of addiction, and general social

stability as reflected in employment and educational status (table 1).

Yet marked differences were apparent between the two groups in race, drug

use, prior involvement in methadone maintenance programs, and the ability to sustain a relationship with a female partner. These differences

between the two groups suggest that clients in the opiate and benzodiazepine studies represent very different subpopulations of methadone

maintenance clients. Abstinence incentives offered at the treatment

clinic nevertheless produced similar reductions in supplemental drug

use among both these groups of clients. The one difference which was

observed in results of the two studies had to do with the incentives

which were selected from the reinforcer menu when these were earned.

Clients who participated in opiate incentive studies chose money ($7.50)

on 7% of occasions when incentives were earned and chose take-home

medication on 25.6% of occasions, while clients in the benzodiazepine

incentive study who were exposed to the same incentive choice took

money on only 11% of occasions and take-home medication on 8% of

occasions. This difference in client choices suggests that effectiveness of reinforcers will depend to sane extent on individual client

characteristics and histories but that these differences may be predictable on the basis of client drug use and demographic characteristics.

DISCUSSION

The present studies are relevant to an important clinical problem

among methadone maintenance patients. It has been repeatedly observed

from urinalysis test results that a substantial portion of methadone

maintenance patients continue to use supplementary drugs in addition

to their methadone. Reported program-wide rates of opiate-positive

urine tests (morphine or quinine) have ranged from 10% or less (Harford

and Kleber, 1978; Senay et al. 1977) to higher rates of 27-38% of

tests (Baldridge et al. 1974; Goldstein et al. 1977; Tyler and Hargreaves 1975). In another way of looking at incidence of drug use,

20-40% of patients are commonly reported as showing at least an occasional opiate-positive urine test over a period of several months

(Goldstein 1972; Bigelow et al. 1976; Renault 1973) but even higher

rates have been reported. Three investigators (Goldstein et al. 1977;

Ling et al. 1978; Woody et al. 1975a) for example, report that 50-70%

of methadone maintenance clients had at least one opiate-positive

urine test, while 3% (Ling et al. 1978) and 5% (Goldstein et al. 1977)

80
had more than 10% of tests opiate positive. Similarly, persistent

benzodiazepine use has been reported to occur in 30-40% of methadone

maintenance clients (Bigelow et al. 1976; Woody et al. 1975a,b). supplemental drug use, then, is a Widespread problem among methadone

maintenance clients, and one which deserves vigorous treatment intervention, since it represents a continuation of abusive drug ingestion

patterns by addict patients even after their enrollment in treatment.

The present studies have shown that abstinence incentives can have at

least. a temporary therapeutic impact in reducing supplemental drug use.

Although the reliability and permanence of these effects needs to be

assessed in future studies, these results suggest that it is appropriate and Worthwhile to pursue abstinence incentive strategies. Furthe more, the studies suggest that methods for reducing supplemental

drug use can be implemented and evaluated as part of behavioral treatment programs at existing treatment clinics an adjunct to or substitute for current methods of dealing with this residual problem among

methadone maintenance clients. Methadone clinics frequently attempt

to influence supplemental drug use in one of two ways: The first

method is to offer program privileges such as take-hare medication to

clients Who are generally well-behaved and free of supplemental drug

use and to revoke these privileges When drug use occurs (Baldridge et

al. 1974). Unfortunately, this policy is often unsystematic in practice. Take-homes may be based more on "seniority" in the program

than on actual behavior, and once privileges are granted, programs

find it very difficult to take then away again. The second common

policy for dealing With supplemental drug use is that clients Who are

grievous offenders are frequently threatened With expulsion from the

program if they do not reduce their drug use. While this policy may

result in a lowered incidence of supplemental drug use among the remaining clinic enrollees, there is no information as to Whether threats or

actual expulsion have any beneficial effect on individual drug-using

clients exposed to the contingencies. The treatment approach suggested

by the present studies involves offering incentives or reinforcement at

the treatment clinic contingent upon improved therapeutic outcomes such

as reduced supplemental drug use rather than delivering sanctions and

punishments contingent upon continued drug use. To the extent that

abstinence incentives are effective, this approach provides a rational

treatment intervention Which Will permit patients to experience positive reinforcing interventions With the treatment program contingent

upon successful behavior rather than negative, punishing interactions

contingent upon misbehavior.

Methodological Issues

As described in the introduction, significant advances have been made

in identifying treatment clinic privileges Which are available for use

in contingency management therapy With addicts and in evaluating the

efficacy of these privileges in controlled treatment research When used

as reinforcers in contingent arrangements. The present studies represent another methodological advance in that the impact has been evaluated of contingent clinic privileges on drug use Which occurs outside

the clinic in the natural environment. Thus, evaluation of contingent

reinforcenent for drug abstinence is occurring in a realistic treatment setting, and findings have direct applicability to drug abuse

treatment. When drug supplementation occurs outside the treatment

81
clinic, it is never directly observed by the clinic staff, and measures of drug use must necessarily be indirect. Urinalysis testing

provides the most convenient and technically feasible method for assessment. However, urine testing has limitations as a measure of drug use.

Data obtained on any urinalysis test system will be influenced by many

factors, including the recency and quantity of drug ingested, as well as

the method (Goldstein et al. 1977) and schedule (Harford and Kleber

1978) of urine testing, and my not always reflect drug ingestion accurately. Yet success of abstinence incentive programs depends importantly on the accuracy with which urinalysis tests reflect actual drug

use as we11 as on the delay between urine testing and reinforcer delivery. The on-site EMIT testing system avoids the typical delays of one

week or more in receipt of test results when urine testing is conducted

by an outside laboratory, and is therefore essential for operation of a

responsive contingency management program. Unfortunately, we cannot

directly assess the validity of urinalysis test results obtained on EMIT

when drug use occurs outside the experimental setting. Data collected

during the present studies on the EMIT urinalysis system for both morphine and benzodiazepine tests were, however, compared with data obtained from thin layer chromatography analysis at an outside independent laboratory. This data comparison can be viewed as a check on the

reliability and validity of urinalysis test results in the sense that

agreement across tests verifies the presence or absence of opiates in

the body. Gut of 178 morphine tests available for comparison, there

agreement between the two urinalysis testing systems on 89.3% of

tests. EMIT showed positives when chromatography testing was negative

on 6.7% of tests, while EMIT was negative and chromatography positive

on 3.9% of tests. These results contrast somewhat with those reported

by Goldstein et al. (1977) who found EMIT to detect about twice as many

opiate positives as did chromatography analysis. Similarly, as shown

in Figure 4, urinalysis results obtained for benzodiazepines were compared for EMIT and chromatography testing methods. Out of 108 tests

available for comparison, the two system agreed on 88.9% of cases.

All disagreements were cases where chromatography was positive and

EMIT negative. In general, then, the EMIT on-site urinalysis test

system provided reliable, verifiable data on the presence of both opiates and benzodiazepines in the body following their use by addict

clients as well as a responsive system which allowed for delivery of

abstinence incentives without undue delay. These characteristics of

the on-site urine testing system make evaluation of abstinence incentive programs feasible and their inplementation in treatment clinics

practical.

A second methodological issue concerns the stability of drug use over

time in individual addicts. Relatively stable baselines of drug use

are desirable for demonstrating treatment effects within individual

addict clients. It became apparent while conducting the present studies, however, that supplemental drug use may fluctuate widely over

time within individuals and my be influenced by many factors other

than abstinence incentives offered at the clinic. These other factors

my include availability of drugs; current stability of the addict's

life, and occasional traumatic events such as drug overdose. This

fluctuating baseline of drug use can make demonstration of treatment

effects equivocal. The influence of contingent reinforcement on drug

use was nevertheless clearly apparent in the present studies, while

ultimately, effects of abstinence incentives can be assessed by the

82
replicability of effects within subjects and consistency of effects

across subjects.

Conceptual Issues

The use of abstinence incentive or reinforcement techniques has several

important implications for our conceptualizations of the nature and

dynamics of drug abuse and of the appropriate goals and methods of drug

abuse treatment. As mentioned at the beginning of this paper there are

two general orientations toward behavioral treatment of drug abuse.

One involves a focus upon drug-seeking and drug self-administration behaviors and seeks to modify those behaviors directly. The second approach involves a focus upon collateral behavioral problems such as

unemployment and poor social skills, and seeks to modify these behaviors

on the assumption that alteration of these collateral behaviors will

lead indirectly to alterations in drug--use behaviors. Successful application of abstinence incentives would suggest first that it may be profitable to focus treatment interventions directly on drug and other substance use rather than -treating addiction indirectly through psychotherapy and skills training. It is generally believed that there is an

important interrelationship between drug use and the quality or variety

of an individual's behavioral repertoire. This view can be stated as

follows: If an individual receives adequate reinforcement from other

areas of life, he/she will not engage in excessive substance use. This

implies that if an addict is taught ways to gain alternative reinforcers, drug use will decline in the absence of specific contingencies

for drug abstinence. Thus, for example, if addicts and substance

abusers can be taught to solve their personal and emotional problems more effectively, improve their interpersonal relations, relieve their anxiety and boredom, or enhance their status in society

by obtaining better jobs, this will in turn result in reduced drug

and substance use. Indeed, it, is often suggested that collateral life

adjustment problems must be alleviated before substance abuse can

abate. This viewpoint presently lacks empirical support. Some, but

not all, substance abusers have deficits in personal, social,or work

skills which are concurrent with their substance abuse problem. Chronic

alcoholism, for example, has long been associated with deteriorated

work performance and family relations (Armor et al. 1976; Gerard and

Saenger 1966; O'Leary et al. 1976) while deficits in social and personal adjustment, criminal lifestyles, and psychopathology are particularlv .notable among drug abusers (Gearing 1974; Martin et al. 1978).

However, the fact that alcoholisn and especially cigarette smoking are

common among otherwise ostensiblv normal individuals who display high

levels of behavioral skills and high rates of alternative behavior argue

against the notion that skills deficits or lack of alternative behaviors are significant determinants of substance abuse.

To the extent that abstinence incentive or reinforcement procedures, as

illustrated in this paper, prove to be therapeutically effective for

the long term, this will suggest that the determinants of drug abuse

lie in the environmental contingencies on drug use itself and not in

the patient's repertoire of collateral behavior. This would argue that

the more efficient treatment intervention strategy will be to focus

directly upon drug-seeking and drug self-administration behaviors.

Successful application of abstinence incentives suggests that drug use

83
can be influenced without teaching any special skills for achieving

abstinence. It is generally believed that an important aspect of drug

abuse treatment involves teaching addicts and substance abusers skills

necessary for achieving abstinence. Therapy programs have been developed to teach methods and techniques for achieving abstinence from

excessive substance use. Alcoholics, for example, have been given

assertiveness training to teach then how to refuse drinks when these

are offered (Foy et al. 1976) or have been taught new methods of ingesting drinks in order to control their total intake of alcohol (Sobell

and Sobell 1973). It is not clear, however. whether people need to be

taught any special skills in order to successfully give up excessive

use of drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes; nor is there any reason to believe that, once learned, these skills would necessarily be applied by

the addict to decline available drugs. It would seem plausible that

declining available drugs involves behavior which is generally already

within the abilities of most people. Indeed, most cigarette smokers

who quit successfully do so on their own, with no professional help

(U.S. Public Health Service 1977), while to the extent that abstinence

incentives alone have been efficacious in reducing supplemental drug

use in the present studies, these also suggest that even "hard core"

drug addicts have the skills to give up their drug use successfully.

Nevertheless, it is generally believed that skills training is a

necessary, if perhaps not sufficient, step in attaining abstinence.

Successful application of abstinence incentives suggests that this is

not the case. Whether the teaching of abstinence skills could improve

abstinence rates over those achieved with incentives alone is a different question, and one which will deserve future study.

If abstinence incentives can promote reduced drug and substance use in

the absence of skills training, this suggests that the main problem in

drug and substance abuse treatment may be one of motivating performance

rather than teaching new skills, and suggests further that enviromental

reinforcement contingencies may be the primary determinants of motivation. There are many benefits that addicts, for example, derive from

involvement with supplemental drug use which militate against reduction

in drug use patterns. These benefits may be financial, from the sale of

drugs; socia1, from use which occurs in the company of friends; and

pharmacological, from the subjective effects of the drug. The decision

to change drug use must certainly involve consideration of the comse

quences of drug use vs. drug abstinence. Thus, for example, the fact

that exhortations from counselors and others are notoriously ineffective in producing behavioral change may reflect not only the relatively

weak incentive value of avoiding these sorts of messages, and gaining

praise from the counselor, but may also reflect the positively reinforcing aspects of receiving attention for continued drug use. The

Present studies suggest that behavior change can be accommplished by

altering meaningful consequences of drug use including financial consequences. This in turn suggests that it may be profitable to consider

drug abuse less as a skills deficit and more as a motivational problem.

Practical Implementation

If abstinence incentives ultimately prove to be efficacious, their

usefulness would then depend largely on whether they can be practically implemented in treatment clinics. Two caveats should be men84
tioned in this regard. First, the present studies suggest that efficacy of incentives may depend upon the value of incentives offered.

Thus, efficacy Was generally enhanced When value of incentives was

increased, especially in the opiate incentive studies. Practicality

of abstinence incentive procedures would be quite limited if these

Were only useful under conditions of excessive or continually escalating incentive values. Secondly, the practical implementation of

reinforcement techniques to motivate behavior change and to promote

drug abstinence may be limited by possible conflicts with community

standards and mores. The idea that a treatment program might provide

positive reinforcement (i.e., pay or special privileges) to individuals as a consequence of desirable behavior is often considered distasteful. There seem to be two bases for this feeling. On the one

hand there is sometimes a feeling that contingent reinforcement procedures are unduly coercive - an apparent recognition of their efficacy. On the other hand there is sometimes a feeling that individuals

being treated for problems of undesirable behavior do not deserve any

special privileges or rewards; unfortunately; popular sentiment often

favors punishment procedures in such cases. In the long run the resolution of these concerns will depend upon contingency management's

establishing a solid history of appropriate and effective application

in the treatment of substance abuse. Methadone maintenance clinics

may provide an ideal context Within Which to establish such a history.

A major, explicit, and consensual goal of these treatment programs is

the reduction of illicit drug use. The use of contingent reinforcement procedures Within methadone maintenance clinics may provide a

method of enhancing their effectiveness by utilizing privileges

Which are already dispensed by the clinics in a more rational

way, to promote improved therapeutic outcomes among drug addict patients.

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89

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The research reported and preparation of this manuscript were supported

by research grant M-01472 and Research Scientist Development Award

DA-00050 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

AUTHORS

Maxine L. Stitzer, Ph.D.

George E. Bigelow, Ph.D.

Ira Liebson, M.D.

Department of Psychiatry

Baltimore City Hospitals

4940 Eastern Avenue

Baltimore, Maryland 21224

90
Part II Tobacco Smoking
Chapter 7

An Overview of Smoking Behavior

and its Modification

Terry F. Pechacek, Ph.D.

The use and abuse of tobaccopresents aparticularly challenging

problem. The history of tobacco use documents the tenacity of the

behavior once it is introduced into a culture. Moreover, this

tenacity plus the widespread abuse of the substance through

cigarette smoking make that behavior what Michael Russell called

"probably the most addictive and dependence-producing form of

object-specific self-administered gratification known to man"

(Russell 1974).

Unfortunately, research has yet to adequately define the

controlling mechanisms of this common but complex behavior,

For many smokers, the psychosocial and behavioral reinforcemants outweigh the pharmacological; yet, for others, who are

unable to successfully quit unaided, the complex interplay

of social, behavioral, and pharmacological controlling factors

may more closely resemble the traditionally defined dependencies

of alcohol and illicit drugs (Hunt and Matarazzo 1973). Therefore, an overview of data relevant to the modification of

cigarette smoking will be provided from the broader interpersonal or social level down to the finer intrapersonal factors.

TRENDS IN SMOKING BEHAVIOR

Since the health consequences of cigarette smoking have become

more specifically defined (USDREW 1964), interest in the social,

behavioral, and pharmacological aspects of the problem has been

rapidly growing. Unfortunately the social relevancy of the

problem has focused most of the effort to modify the behavior

toward either general, nonspecific appeals or clinical presentations of what logically seemed to be the best treatment rather

than toward the careful and systematic research needed to solve

this Complex problem (Pechacek 1979). At the same time, massive

changes have been occurring in this country's general social climate toward smoking (NCSH 1976; Gallup 1976). What formerly was

accepted as an even appealing minor vice is now being defined as a

92
substance of abuse which appears to be this country's largest preventable cause of premature death, illness, and disability (USDHEW

1979). As figure 1 indicates, the US public has become very aware

of the health consequences of cigarette smoking.

FIGURE 1

FROM: GALLUP OPINION INDEX, JUNE 1978

© 1978, Gallup Poll Organization. Reprinted with permission.

Most of the positive effects of this increased knowledge have

occurred as a part of the vast public health campaign against

smoking. The escalating smoking consumption pattern of the 1940's

and 1950's has been blunted (Warner 1977), filtered cigarettes are

now the norm (Harris 1979), and the average "tar" and nicotine

content of cigarettes smoked has been substantially reduced

(Harris 1979). Additionally, recent surveys of U.S. adults have

documented a pattern of steady decline in the proportion of smokers at almost all age levels (NCSH 1969, 1973, 1976). Among

males, for whom the health risks have been more publicized, and

health professionals the decline has been most dramatic (See

figure 2 and table 1). Finally, faced with the almost uniform

awareness of the general health risks and rising concerns of families and friends, almost all current adult smokers report that

93
they have either tried or want to try to quit smoking completely

(NCSHI 1976; Gallup 1978).

FIGURE 2

THE MAJORITY OF PHYSICIANS, DENTISTS AND PHARMACISTS

WHO EVER SMOKED CIGARETTES HAVE QUIT

*PERCENT OF THOSE WHO HAVE EVER SMOKED CIGARETTES REGULARLY WHO NO LONGER

SMOKE

TABLE 1

CUMULATIVE QUIT RATES BY AGE AND SEX (1964,1966, 1970, and 1975)a

Males Females

Ages 1964 1966 1970 1975 1964 1966 1970 1975

21-25 12%b

 10% 29% 28% 15% 14% 29% 23%

25-34 23% 2.5% 37% 34% 19% 21% 32% 32%

3544 28% 27% 39% 35% 19% 21% 29% 33%

45-54 32% 33% 44% 47% 16% 19% 30% 32%

55-64 33% 39% 53% 54% 25% 34% 40% 37%

65+ 47% 51% 66% 60% 30% 41% 44% 51%

TOTAL 30% 31% 44% 43% 19% 22% 33% 33%

a

Source : NCSH, 1969, 1973, 1976.

bQuit rates are computed by dividing the number of former smokers

by the number of ever smokers in each cohort (see original

references for definitions of categories).

94
Even though an estimated 30 million smokers have quit since 1964

(NC1 1977), the situation is not as positive it nay first appear.

When this pattern of largely, unaided smoking cessation is considered in closer detail, the following points surface:

(1) most smokers are unsuccessful in their initial attempt to

quit smoking (Pechacek and Danaher 1979);

(2) while high proportions of smokers, especially middle-aged

males, eventually do quit, many do not until the negative

consequences, especially the physiological effects,

become very immediate and inescapable (for example,

symptoms of chronic heart or lung diseases or the more

traumatic myocardial infarction) (Pechacek and Danaher

1979); and

(3) if a smoker is unable to quit unaided and seeks formal

treatment, the probabilities of long term success in

attaining abstinence remain very discouraging (Pechacek

1979).

In fact the rather discouraging picture presented by Hunt and

Bespalec (1974) in their survey of 89 smoking treatment studies

(see figure 3) continues to be a generally accurate representation

of smoking treatment results.

FIGURE 3

RELAPSE RATE AFTER TREATMENT FOR SMOKING

From: Hunt, W.A., and Bespalec, D.A. An evaluation of current

methods of modifying smoking behavior. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 30:430-438, 1974. © 1974, Clinical psychology Publishing

Co. Reprinted with permission.

95
ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEM

Attempts to define this tenacity of the behavior have highlighted

the fact that smoking behavior is a classic example of a selfregulatory response seeking immediate rewards despite long term

aversive consequences (Bandura 1969, 1977). When these contingencies are considered at a cognitive level by the smoker, a

cost/benefit judgement seems to favor the immediate, but still

poorly defined, gratifications of continued smoking rather than

the future negative contingencies, such as severe illness, which

have unknown probabilities for the individual (Horn 1976;

Pechacek & Danaher 1979). Survey data (NCSH l966, 1973, 1976)

reveal that broad social contingencies and models that encourage

smoking initiation remain active into adulthood and produce differential smoking patterns for socioeconomic classes, genders, and

working groups (Pechacek & Danaher 1979).

Additionally, the social acceptability of the behavior has allowed

it to be learned in an almost total range of eliciting cues (Hunt

& Matarazzo 1970, 1973; Logan 1970, 1973). Moreover, few human

behaviors are performed as often as the habitual smoker inhales on

the cigarette (Hunt & Matarazzo 1970, 1973; Iogan 1970, 1973).

Thus, the contingencies and schedules under which almost all adult

smoking has been learned would suggest a behavioral repertoire

that would he highly resistive to extinction (Hunt & Matarazzo

1970, 1973). Given the additional but only partially understood

neurological and physiological mechanisms by which nicotine and/or

other chemicals in tobacco smoke may provide primary reinforcement

(Jarvik 1977), the dependence-producing power of the behavior is

understandable (Russell l974, 1976). However, for the individual

smoker, other less clear patterns of secondary reinforcement and

extended behavioral chains make the identification of the most

important controlling factors very difficult (Pomerleau 1979a,

1979b).

The most integrative descriptions of these social, behavioral,

and pharmacological controlling factors have been offered by

behavioral and social learning theory formulations (Panerleau

1979a, 1979b; Pechacek & Danaher 1979; Lichtenstein & Danaher

1976). However, the theoretical analyses of smoking behavior

have yet to produce the basic or applied research needed to test

derived hypotheses, and these models have failed in general to

lead to increasingly more effective or refined interventions

(Lichtenstein & Danaher 1976; Lichtenstein 1977; Pechacek 1979).

It would appear that the complexity of the behavior requires

greater effort in analysis and definition of the problem before

consistently successful interventions can be derived (Epstein &

McCoy 1975; Lichtenstein 1977; Pechacek 1979; Panerleau 1979a).

STRATEGIES TO MODIFY SMOKING BEHAVIOR

This lack of theoretical direction has been compounded by the lack

of sufficiently rigorous evaluation of most smoking control inter96
ventions (Bernstein 1969; Pechacek 1979; Schwartz 1969). A wide

variety of general, nonspecific efforts have been made to help

people quit smoking. These have included: public health educational campaigns, public service clinics, proprietary prograns,

medical counseling, and large-scale coronary prevention studies

(Pechacek 1979). While a remarkable amount of well meaning effort

has teen devoted to these activities, little outcome data has been

made available for critical appraisal.

General, Nonspecific Efforts

The effects of the public health educational campaigns are especially hard to evaluate. The landmark 1964 Surgeon General's Report

on Smoking and Health (USDHEW 1964) and the subsequent outflow of

information into all media channels have been estimated to have

reduced consumption by 20 to 30 percent below the predicted 1975

level (Warner 1977), but the specific effects on individual reduction and cessation attempts remain almost completely unevaluated.

Likewise, the focus of public service clinics has inhibited evaluation. The group treatment programs of the American Cancer

Society and the Five-Day Plan probably have helped more smokers

than any other organized effort in this country but only limited

outcome data are available for consideration (McAlister 1975;

Schwartz & Rider 1977). Data a the efficacy of the Five-Day Plan

are very mixed. Reports from uncontrolled evaluations have often

been encouraging; however, controlled studies suggest the more

commonly noted 20 to 30 percent long term abstinence at 9 to 12

month followups (Pechacek 1979).

Similarly, when ACS group program was evaluated in the Los

Angeles area in 1973, long term abstinence rates were not

impressive (Pyszka, Ruggels, Janowicz 1973). As figure 4 highlights, only 41.7 percent of a random sample of participants

reported having quit at posttreatment and only 18 percent were

abstinent 18 months after treatment termination.

other smoking clinics, some being even more elaborate, have

displayed similar results (Delarue 1973; Isacsson & Janzon 1976;

Shewchuk et al. 1977: Schwartz & Dubitzkv 1968). Although this

mechanism of service delivery may be important, effective treatment variables still need to be defined (Bernstein 1969).

The lack of objective evaluation is especially unfortunate

since millions of motivated smokers have passed through these

programs with little or no history of the outcome.

In light of these data on public service and research withdrawal

groups and clinics, the claim of more impressive results by

proprietary programs must be viewed with caution (McAlister 1975;

Schwartz & Rider 1977). The changing public attitudes regarding

smoking have led to a rapid growth in such commercial efforts but

again almost all have & en unevaluated. One evaluation of the

SmokEnders program reported that 70 percent of the participants

of a group of clinics quit by treatment termination and that 39

97
FIGURE 4

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE AMERlCAN CANCER SOCIETY GROUP PROGRAM

based on 29 clinics held In the Los Angeles area

(Adapted from data of Pyszka, Ruggels, and Janowicz, 1973)

percent of a cohort (57 percent of the males and 30 percent of the

females) followed up 31⁄2-4 years later were still reporting abstinence (Kanzler, Jaffe & Zeidenberg 1976); however, when Schwartz

and Rider (1977) considered treatment dropouts and subjects lost

to followup, the abstinence rate dropped to 27 percent. In

general, the proprietary programs have yet to demonstrate that

their interventions provide more than a general placebo effect

enhanced by significant financial outlays.

Medical counseling is an area of smoking intervention with great

potential but little data (Lichtenstein & Danaher 1978; Rose

1977). Physicians are viewed as important in the smoking cessation decision by almost all smokers (NSCH 1976). Nevertheless,

only 25 percent of the current smokers in 1975 reported being

advised by their physician to quit smoking (NSCH 1976). Symptoms

of health effects of cigarettes can produce behavior change.

Numerous studies of ex-smokers have shown that finally linking the

increase of symptoms such as coughing or breathlessness to smoking

was a reportedly major precipitant for unaided quitting (Pechacek

& Danaher 1979). However, it appears that most physicians are

discouraged from taking the role of smoking counselor

and are only effective when dramatic symptoms such as severe lung

or heart disease are present (Rose 1977). In such cases, even

minimal physician counseling can produce 30 to 40 percent cessation with almost no long term relapse (Croog & Richards 1977;

Weinblatt, Shapiro, & Frank 1971). When more systematic counseling and followup is provided, over 50 percent long term abstinence has been found among post-myocardial infarction patients

(Burt et al. 1974).

98
Since middle-aged male smokers judged at high risk for but not yet

exhibiting coronary heart disease (CHD) offer great potential for

prevention of premature death, several studies have focused on

this population. Studies have . documented that substantial changes

can be produced when coronary risk-factor screening is followed by

sane systematic counseling which clearly links smoking to

increased risks of a premature heart attack (Pechacek 1979). The

Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT) is me of the

largest and most ambitious of the multicomponent efforts to

influence cigarette smoking, along with other CHD risk factors,

among middle-aged men through face-to-face counseling (MRFIT

Group 1976, 1977). Of 12,866 men, aged 35-57 at entry, who were

selected as being above-average risk for CHD, 6,428 were randomly

assigned to a six-year coronary prevention program which is

attempting to reduce blood pressure and serum cholesterol levels

as well as encourage smoking cessation. Primary intervention consisted of 8 to 10 multicomponent group or individual sessions

focusing on dietary and smoking changes to reduce CHD risk and

have been followed by monthly or bimonthly maintenance contacts.

Results through the second year reveal that most of the successful

cessation occurred during the initial months of the trial (Ockene

1979; Pechacek et al. 1979). Among the 3,727 Special Intervention

smokers at entry, 1722 (46.2 percent) reported abstinence at the

four-month visit and 1118 (64.9 percent.) were still reporting

abstinence at the second annual exam (appromximately 20-22 months

after the intensive intervention). However, among the 2005 smokers who had not quit by the four-month visit, only 263 (13.1

percent) were abstinent at the second annual visit. Overall, 44.1

percent of the smokers at intake were reporting to have quit by

the second annual exam. Thus the data from MRFIT appears similar

to the post-MI data noted above; namely, that once subjects are

convinced concerning the smoking-heart disease link, dramtic

changes are possible, while later changes are less frequent and'

more subject to relapse.

Programs aimed at total communities also have produced encouraging

data. The North Karelia Project within a region of eastern

Finland has provided a comprehensive coronary prevention program

since 1972 to reduce blood pressure and serum cholesterol levels

and encourage smoking cessation (Tuamilehto et al. 1978; Puska et

al. 1978). The promotion of male smokers 25 to 59 years old

decreased from 54 percent to 44 percent during the initial year of

intervention but changed only slightly in the reference counties

in western Finland (Tuamilehto et al. 1978). Even more specific

data are available from the Stanford Heart Disease Prevention

program (McAlister et al. 1976; Farquhar et al. 1977). One community received an extensive, two year mass-media campaign

focusing on general heart disease prevention while a second

received the media campaign plus face-to-face behavioral counseling for two-thirds of the highest risk individuals. Three

years after the start of the campaign. the proportion of smokers

decreased by only 3 percent in a control community and 8 percent

in the media-only community but by 24 percent in the media plus counseling community, and 50 percent of the counseled high-risk smokers

reported quitting (McAlister et al. 1976):

99
When the risks of smoking are made more immediate and clear, and

when both skills and support to change are provided, meaningful

reductions in adult smoking can be obtained (Pechacek 8 Dinaher

1979). The multifactor coronary prevention trials seem to indicate that successful long term changes can be achieved with fairly

minimal forms of direct smoking intervention; however, there is a

lack of data regarding the types of individuals who respond best

to these forms of intervention. In general, when smokers have

been sufficiently educated regarding the immediate and clear relationship between their smoking and heart disease, they respond

much like the post-M1 patient-they quit immediately and they tend

to relapse less often than most other quitters.

Controlled Research on Modification Strategies

In addition to the diverse public service and medical counseling

types of smoking interventions, there has been a wealth of

research conducted on strategies for the modification of smoking

behavior (Pechacek 1979). Early controlled research generally

produced unimpressive and discouraging results (Bernstein 1969;

Schwartz 1969). Schwartz and Dubitzky (1968) tested what appeared

to be the best treatment strategies available in the late 1960's

and found that not one of the seven experimental conditions was

superior to the no-contact or minimal-contact controls by the end

of a one-year followup. Moreover, the methodology of early _

research was generally quite inadequate (Bernstein 1969; Schwartz

1969). While the situation has been improving, major methodological inadequacies remain comnon (McFall 1978).

The most pervasive problem remains the validity of self-report

data upon which almost all treatment evaluations are based

(Pechacek 1979). Recent data suggest that after a treatment

program, false reporting of abstinence may be as high as 20 to 30

percent (Delarue 1973; Ohlin, Lundh, and Westling 1977; Sillet et

al. 1978). Therefore, uncorroborated self-reports may lead to an

overestimation of success, especially in experimental conditions

where subjects are under social pressure to report quitting. For

this reason, physiological monitoring of smoking behavior should

be used to both validate self-report and provide a low-cost and

more objective dependent measure.

In addition to the problem of self-report data, the adequacy of

designs and control groups remains a problem (Bernstein 1969).

Attention placebo controls continue to be highly recommended since

the no treatment. strategy reliably has been demonstrated as

superior to general, nonspecific interventions (Pechacek 1979).

Likewise, with the common problem of high relapse after treatment

termination (see figure 3), complete and long term followups remain

critical to the evaluation of any modification strategy (Schwartz

1969; Schwartz and Rider 1977). While the methodological quality

of smoking research has been improving, many programs or studies

have collected little or no objective followup data (Pechacek

1979). Nevertheless, more recent research has begun to highlight

sane more encouraging trends in treatment strategies.

100
The literature on controlled research of strategies to modify

smoking behavior has been extensively reviewed in the past

(Bernstein 1969; Bernstein and McAlister 1976; Best and Bloch

1979; Hunt and Bespalec 1974; Lichtenstein and Eunaher 1976;

McAlister 1975; Pechacek 1979; Schwartz 1969; Schwartz and Rider

1977); therefore, major trends rather than detailed studies will

be discussed. This extensive research literature can be categorized into drug treatments, hypnosis, and social learning or

behavior modification approaches.

As noted above, research has yet to defined the controlling mechanisms of smoking but, some research continues to suggest that there

are pharmacological determinants of smoking. Nicotine is the most

likely candidate; however, defining its role has been difficult

(Jarvik 1977; Lader 1978). Moreover, identifying chemical agents

either to substitute for smoking or to minimize withdrawal symptoms has been frustrating and difficult (Gritz and Jarvik 1977;

Jarvik 1977). Early research on lobeline was equivocal but later,

rigorous study found it clearly ineffective (Davidson and Rosen

1972). Nicotine chewing gum has shown some positive effects

(Russell et al. 1976) but overall nicotine substitution studies

have produced equivocal results (Lader 1978). Other chemical aids

have been tested but current data suggest that the usefulness of

pharmacological cessation aids has yet to be unequivocally

demonstrated (Gritz and Jarvik 1977; Pechacek 1979).

Very optimistic claims have been made regarding the potential of

hypnotherapy for smoking. Unfortunately these claim have not

been substantiated in controlled research (Pechacek 1979). The

early research was both chaotic and methodologically poor with

almost all data appearing as clinical reports (Johnson and

Donoghue 1971). Until the as yet unidentified unique component of

hypnosis is identified as critical to cessation. the procedure can

best be conceptualized as a combination of existing behavioral

interventions, such as directed imagery, relaxation training, and

contractual management (Danaher and Lichtenstein 1978; Pechacek

and Danaher 1979). Similarly, Orne (1977) concluded that hypnosis

can test be categorized as a placebo response which aids in

nontraumatic cessation through both the mystique of the procedure

and the hypnotic suggestion.

The most prolific research has been based upon experimental and

social learning theories (Bernstein 1969; Bernstein and McAlister

1976; Best and Bloch 1979; Lichtenstein and Lanaher 1976; Pechacek

1979; Pechacek and McAlister 1979). While these studies continue

to have many methodological flaws (McFall 1978; Pechacek 1979).

the research based upon learning theories has generally been

improving and encouraging (Bernstein and McAlister 1976; Best and

Bloch 1979; Lichtenstein and Danaher 1976; Pechacek and McAlister

1979). Unfortunately many studies have adapted the generally successful techniques of behavior modification to smoking without

sufficient analysis of the problem (Epstein and McCoy 1975;

Lichtenstein 1977; Pechacek 1979). Moreover, many researchers

have focused more on initial reductions rather than on long term

101
change (Pechacek 1979; pomerleau 1979c; Schwartz and Rider 1977).

The literature is replete with studies demonstrating Temporary

success but minimal long term results. Since the literature in

this area is so large and has been comprehensively reviewed in the

past (Bernstein 1969; Bernstein and McAlister 1976; Best and Bloch

1979; Danaher 1977; Danaher and Lichtenstein 1978; Hunt and

Bespalec 1974; Lichtenstein and Danaher 1976; Pechacek, and

McAlister 1979; Pechacek 1979; Schwartz 1969; Schwartz and Rider

1977), overview of major research trends will be presented.

The research in this area can be roughly dicotomized into two

broad but not mutually exclusive classes: (a) behavioral selfcontrol strategies utilizing high participant involvement and (b)

aversion strategies designed to reduce the probability of the

smoking response (Lichtenstein and Danaher 1976). However, many

of the effective programs have tended to be multicomponent interventions which combined certain strategies from both categories

(Pechacek 1979).

Self-Control Strategies. Stimulus control procedures, based on

the assumption that smoking is prompted by environmental cues and

that the variety and number of cues lead to difficulty in

quitting, have attempted to produce a gradual elimination of

smoking by narrowing the range of controlling cues. Interventions

focusing on increasing stimulus intervals and hierarchical reductions and/or narrowing smoking situations have produced limited

and inconsistent findings (Bernstein and McAlister 1976; Best and

Bloch 1979; Lichtenstein and Danaher 1976; Pechacek 1979). Many

programs have displayed initial suppression of smoking rates

(although there seems to be a "floor effect" at about 10-12

cigarettes) followed by rapid relapse.

Therefore, the literature on self-control strategies generally has

been discouraging. Some positive results have been demonstrated

for contingency contracting, especially when it has been combined

with other behavioral strategies (Danaher and Lichtenstein 1978;

Pechacek 1979), but other specific techniques such as systematic

desensitization or gradual stimulus fading have produced equivocal

and unimpressive long term results (Pechacek 1979). Even when

self-control strategies have been applied in more complex, multicomponent formats, the results have been only moderately

encouraging and often replicate the common rates of 20 to 30

percent abstinence during followup (see figure 3) (Pechacek 1979;

Pechacek and McAlister 1979).

Aversion Strategies. Treatment results for smoking modification

programs based upon aversion techniques have also been inconsistent, with initially impressive results failing to be replicated. Nevertheless, aversion strategies have produced some of

the most encouraging data of any behavioral approach (Danaher

1977; Danaher and Lichtenstein 1978; Lichtenstein and Danaher 1976).

The most common aversive stimuli have been electric shock, covert

images, and cigarette smoke itself. More recently, these aversion

strategies have been included into multicomponent packages that

include self-control techniques as well.

102
The data from controlled research on electric shock as a sole

treatment have provided only minimal evidence for permanent effectiveness (Bernstein and McAlister 1976; Lichtenstein and Danaher

1976; Pechacek 1979). However, some recent data suggest that

shock augmented by other procedures my produce an effective

treatment package (Dericco, Brigham, and Garlington 1977).

Cognitive processes have been commonly employed to produce aversion

by pairing smoking with vivid images of extreme nausea or other

unpleasant stimulation. Covert sensitization is the most. common

of these and has often been discussed as a mechanism for generalizing aversion effects outside the lab. but as a primary treatment

for smoking the technique has failed to produce meaningful or encouraging levels of long term abstinence (Bernstein and McAlister

1976; Lichtenstein and Danaher 1976; Pechacek 1979).

The most effective aversion strategies have utilized some form of

smoke aversion (Best and Bloch 1979; Lichtenstein and Danaher

1976; Pechacek 1979). It has been suggested that cigarette smoke

is a particularly appropriate aversive stimulus since it affects

many of the endogenous cues that characterize smoking

(Lichtenstein and Danaher 1976). Three main versions of smoke

aversion have been used: (a) satiation, that is doubling or

tripling daily consumption prior to abstinence, (b) warm, stale

smoke blown into the smoker's face. or (c) rapid smoking, that is

inhaling every six seconds until unable to continue. While data

on smoke aversion techniques has been inconsistent and often

mixed, continued research has produced some promising results

Danaher 1977; Danaher and Lichtenstein 1978; Lichtenstein and

Danaher 1976).

Early research on smoke aversion strategies produced minimal

effects (Lichtenstein and Danaher 1976) but Lichtenstein and associates (1973) continued to refine the techniques and produced

impressive results of 60 percent abstinence at six-month followup

for both the rapid smoking and warm, smoky air procedures. Since

the rapid smoking procedure was simpler and more convenient, it

became increasingly popular (Lichtenstein and Danaher 1976). The

rapid smoking procedure has been extensively tested in over 30

studies (Danaher 1977). Although some studies demonstrated minimal long term effects, overall, the procedure has shown relatively

superior results (Danaher 1977; Danaher and Lichtenstein 1978).

Danaher (1977) clarified some of the inconsistencies in the data

by highlighting the departures from the original treatment procedures which could have accounted for the minimal treatment

effects. It appears that the rapid smoking procedure can be

potentially very effective; but a warm, Personal client-therapist

relationship, flexible or individualized treatment scheduling, and

continuation of treatment until abstinence is attained all may be

important to produce high abstinence rates (Danaher1977; Pechacek

and McAlister 1979).

The final smoke aversion strategy is satiation. Early research on

this technique was encouraging but the weight of evidence since

then has been negative Danaher and Lichtenstein 1978;

103
Lichtenstein and Danaher 1976). however, recent studies combining

the technique with behavioral self-control training have produced

sane encouraging data (Best and Bloch 1979; Best, and, and

Trentadue 1978; Delahunt and Curran 1976). Nevertheless, the fact

that controlled studies had been unable to replicate the initial

success of satiation only or even demonstrate superiority versus

control conditions raises doubts about the efficacy of the

procedure (Pechacek 1979).

As smoke aversion strategies were gaining in popularity, concerns

were raised regarding their safety. Since the techniques induce

aversion by means of physiological discomforts of excessive

smoking, the cardiopulmonary stress must be considered before

using the techniques (Hall, sachs, and Hall 1978; Lichtenstein

and Glasgow 1977). While initial data quantifying the procedures

suggest that they are safe for healthy subjects, until the relative risks of the procedures have been more completely defined,

all smoke aversion procedures should be used with appropriate

screening and monitoring (Hall, Sachs, and Hall 1978; Lichtenstein

and Glasgow 1977).

While the research dam on behavioral treatment strategies have

yet to produce a clearly superior alternative, multicomponent

treatments appear to be the most. encouraging (Pechacek 1979).

Packages utilizing some combination of behavioral self-control

techniques and/or integrating various aversive control procedures

can be effective; however, they appear most effective when refined

by systematic developmental research and applied by treatment

teams sensitive to the complexity of the smoking problem (Pechacek

1979). Therefore, the manner in which the procedures are individualized to the participant's needs appears to be a critical

variable.

Treatment Innovations

It has been estimated that 95 percent of the over 29 million smokers who have quit in this country since 1964 have done so on

their own (NC1 1977). Survey data suggest that most smokers want

to quit on their own (Pechacek and Danaher 1979). Treatment

innovations are starting to become available to meet this area of

need (Best, Owen, and Trentadue 1978; Danaher and Lichtenstein

1978) but this line of research merits additional attention.

Also as many smokers find that they are unable to quit completely

despite several attempts (Gallup 1978; NCSH 1976), they have becane increasingly more interested in the products they are smoking

(Harris 1979). Despite this obvious interest among smokers in

reducing their risks without quitting, little research has teen

conducted to develop strategeies to aid smokers in this process.

Since there is a strong possibility that some or many smokers may

alter their inhalation style to maintain a desired level of nicotine uptake even on low "tar" and nicotine brands (Russell 1976).

such brand shifts may not produce true reductions in risk.

Cigarette smokers who shift to pipes and cigars also need

104
assistance. Frederiksen and associates (1976, 1977, 1979) have

begun developing strategies to address this issue; however, more

work is needed in the area of controlled smoking to aid both continuing smokers unable to quit and former smokers switching to

pipes or cigars.

MAINTENANCE OF NONSMOKING

Data on all types of interventions clearly indicate that initial

high rates of success often deteriorate rapidly over time (see

figure 3). All major reviews of the smoking literature have continued to stress the need to deal more effectively with this

problem. Continuing nonreplications and minimal treatment effects

have, however, kept more researchers searching for the urn-e effective cessation strategy (Pechacek 1979). Existing attempts to add

maintenance programming to various treatment packages have proven

ineffective in almost all cases (Ponerleau 1979c). Detailed procedures to aid smokers to cope with personal and situational factors

which induce them back to smoking need to be developed and

tested. While initial data suggest that multicomponent programs

are somewhat more effective in maintaining treatment effects, the

details of these procedures and how such programs integrate

maintenance programing into the overall package have not been

clarified (Pechacek 1979).

Specifically, the role of stress-related cues needs to be clarified

(Pechacek and McAlister 1979). It remains unclear how cigarettes

act as coping device or strategy-is the mechanisn pharmacological

or is it completely behavioral? Similarly the problem of weight

gain subsequent to cessation must be addressed from both a

behavioral and pharmacological perspective. Research interest in

these important areas is beginning, but many issues remain to be

defined and tested (Pamerleau 1979c).

SUMMARY

In light of the amount of research conducted in recent years, it

is remarkable that we have so little outcome data on many forms of

intervention. Equally astounding is how little we know about the

millions of smokers who have quit on their own. Therefore:

(1) The need for stronger methodology in smoking research

must continue to be stressed. Objective measures of

smoking behavior are needed, adequate followups must

become the norm, and more study and theoretical consideration should be given to the development of treatment programs.

(2) The pattern of nonreplications suggests the need to

balance advances methodology within increased practical

and clinical sensitivity to the complexity of the smoking

problem. It should be recognized that a massive

lifestyle modification is required for sane smokers to

become nonsmokers.

105

300-345 0 - 79 - 8
(3)

(4)

Adequate evaluations need to be carried cut in the public

service area as well as in research programs. Both

informal and formal public service programs should be

evaluated, especially those that are reaching the smokers

who are unlikely to attend formal treatment programs.

Data is critically needed on how smokers quit without

formal assistance.

More research is critically needed on the situational and

personal factors which induce ex-smokers back to smoking.

Recidivism remains the overwhelming problem in smoking

modification. As specific problem areas are identified,

research is needed to develop skill training or support

systems to aid recent ex-smokers in coping with these

problem areas.

COMMONALITY ISSUES

Many questions are raised when smoking is considered in conjunction with food, alcohol, and drugs as substances of abuse. One of

the commonly cited points is that smoking, alcohol, and drug

treatment programs share very similar relapse rates after formal

treatment (Hunt, Barnett, and Branch 1971). However the

controlling mechanism in smoking dependency has yet to be adequately defined (Jarvik 1977; Lader 1978; Russell 1976). If nicotine is the substance responsible for a large portion of the

smoking problem, then commonality with alcohol and other drugs

would be easier to understand (Jarvik 1977; Russell 1976). Yet

many smokers appear more akin to most dieters since both are

substance-involved but behavior change seems to depend more on

psychological rather than pharmacological factors. However, the

fact that smoking seems to bridge the gap between the commonly

accepted substances of abuse (i.e., alcohol and drugs) and food at

the other end of the continuum suggests that answers to all these

problems nay be derived from smoking research.

One intriguing issue is raised by the emerging interest in

controlled smoking (Frederiksen and Peterson 1976). Alcohol and

food both clearly-suggest that controlled use should be possible

if there is a commonality across substances; however, survey data

suggest that naturally occurring controlled use (e.g., infrequent

and sporadic use) of tobacco is very rare in comparison to exces-.

sive ingestion of either inappropriate foods or alcohol. At this

point it can not be determined if these seeming differences in

naturally occurring "controlled use" are due to pharmacological

differences in the substances or due to other behavioral factors.

Broad social contingencies of public acceptability of the behavior, legality, cultural constraints, or the like may account for

these differences to some degree.

Finally, Russell (1974) has stated that cigarette smoking is the

most addictive and dependence-producing form of self-administered

gratification. Yet little study has been made of individuals who

106
use multiple substances. Russell (1974) cited some data

suggesting that cigarette-smoking heroin addicts felt it would be

easier to quit using heroin than to stop smoking. Does this imply

that nicotine or some other compound in tobacco is more addicting,

despite the fact that physiological dependence on tobacco has teen

very difficult to demonstrate (Jarvik 1977)? Hence, much more

needs to be learned about the interaction of various substances

and the relative dependence upon them by multitiple users.

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AUTHOR

Terry Frank Pechacek, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow in Preventive Cardiology

Laboratory of physiological Hygiene

School of Public Health

University of Minnesota

611 Beacon Street, S.E.

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455

113
Chapter 8

Social Learning, Smoking, and

Substance Abuse

Edward Lichtenstein, Ph.D.

Social learning theory can be viewed as a broadening of behavior

modification to include Modeling and other mediational (cognitive)

processes (Bandura 1977). In the realm of cranking behavior,

social learning has functioned not as a formal explanatory model,

but rather as a methodological approach with special emphasis on

smoking cessation technology (Pamerleau 1978). Smoking behavior

lends itself nicely to the behavioral outcome research paradigm

'in that it is a discrete behavior, frequently occurring and relatively easy to measure, that many persons wish to eliminate or reduce.

Because of these factors and because smoking lends itself to the

application of numerous behavior strategies, there have been literally hundreds of behaviorally-based intervention studies conducted during the last 15 years.

The intervention research has been largely atheoretical in nature

in the sense that the strategies and tactics employed have not derived from a comprehensive theory of smoking behavior nor have

they been based on extensive clinical experience with dependent

smokers. Interventions have either been suggested by armchair assumptions about the phenomena or borrowed from other areas, often

from other substance abuse problems such as obesity, to "see if

they work" with smoking. The dominant research strategy has been

what McFall (1978) terms the "horserace." Several treatments

are lined up at the starting gate (hopefully without weight handicaps)and the data and investigator jointly determine which one

gets to the finish line first. Such studies usually tell us little

about the processes involved in producing a change in smoking even

when outcomes are reasonably successful;

The results of behavioral intervention efforts have been well summarized by several scorekeepers,with surprisingly close agreement

(Lichtenstein & Dahaner 1976; Bernstein & McAlister 1976; Bernstein & Glasgow, in press; Pechacek, inpress). The reviewers all

seem to agree that things are getting better, albeit slowly, that

some treatment strategies now appear to have modest specific effects, that methodology is imroving, and that a long-needed shift

toward focusing on maintenance is occurring. But there is further

114 
agreement that, in an absolute sense, the current state of affairs

does not constitute grounds for self-reinforcement and there is

room for considerable improvent. Replicable, effective treatment

programs elude social learning proponents as well as other workers

in smoking cessation.

What accounts for this humbling state of affairs and what can be

done to improve matters? While a number of factors and issues have

been noted in the literature, this discussion reflects the writer's

biases. Following a brief critique, sane recent work, mostly from

the Oregon Smoking Control Program, will be describedas it relates

to the issues noted.

Three sets of problems have impeded progress: methodological, conceptual, and sociopolitical.

Methodological Problems

Methodological problems in smoking research have been thoroughly

discussed (Bernstein 1969; Lichtenstein & Danaher 1976; Straights

1977; Mcfall 1978; Pechacek 1979). In the area of research

design and control groups, much progress has been made. In fact,

methodological rigor far outpaces useful theory or effective interventions (Lichtenstein 1971, 1977).

Several writers voice strong concern about the lack of objective

measurement of the dependent variable in smoking intervention studies (e.g., Bernstein 1969; Pechacek 1979). It is recommended

that self-reported smoking rates be corroborated by objective,

physiological indices. The use of informants is also encouraged

but is viewed as a much weaker alternative. Measures of blood

carbon monoxide or carboxyhemoglobin have been used to check

on self-reported smoking rates (Lando 1975). More recently, shortcomings of the carbon Monoxide measure have been noted, especially CO's

short half-life and susceptibility to environmental factors. Thiocyanate measurements have teen suggested as a stronger alternative

(Brockway 1978): The use of physiological indices is desired

able, but is feared that investigators will become overconcerned

with this methodological issue at the expense of dealing with

more important problems such as developing better theories and interventions. Further, it is suggested that sources of error in

physiological measurements have been minimized, and their limitations in reflecting differences in smoking rates have not been

sufficiently appreciated. Both informants and physiological indicators can reliably corroborate abstinence,but neither is a truly

dependable check on rate (Lichtenstein & Danaher 1976). Our own

research experience has shown that verbal reports of abstinence have

very consistently been substantiated by informants (Schmahl, Lichtenstein & Harris 1972; Lichtenstein et al. 1973). However, the demand

characteristics of the smoking control program are an important consideration in evaluating self-report. If contingency deposits are

refundable as a function of increasing periods of abstinence, for example, there is a stronger incentive for subjects to lie.

115
Conceptual Problems

There is no canprehensive yet reasonably specific social learning

model of smoking behavior (Pomerleau 1978). This is not to say

that such a model cannot be constructed. Pomerleau (1978) has

made a systematic and comprehensive effort by attempting to integrate social learning, the nicotine titration hypothesis (Schachter

et al-l977)and opponent process theory (Solomon & Corbit 1973).

His formulation suggests several interesting lines of laboratory

research. Pumerleau, in effect, argues persuasively for one major

strategy for developing an adequate knowledge base: theory-guided

laboratory research. This has been a neglected approach with

respect to the role of behavioral and cognitive variables in smoking behavior. In contrast, there has been a vast amount of work

on the physiology and biochemistry of smoking. Three specific

conceptual issues may be noted.

Elicitors of smoking. Many social learning programs emphasize

stimulus control and/or anxiety management procedures, but there

is little evidence on the stimulus control of snaking. A recent

study by Best and Hakstian (1978) documents individual differences

in patterns of smoking situations and has implications for treatment

planning. The assumption that smokers (at least some smokers) smoke

when anxious and feel less anxious after smoking is similar to clinical lore about drinking (Nathan 1976), and both assumptions appear

weak in empirical support.

Nicotine effects. Social learning smoking interventions have

largely ignored the role of nicotine in maintaining the smoking

habit. Most self-control strategies have focused on external or

environmental stimuli as elicitors of smoking. While recognizing

that the crucial role of nicotine is yet to be conclusively demonstrated (Kumar et all 1977), them is surely enough convergent evidence that it is an important primary reinforcer incorporate

this point in any comprehensive treatment program. Acceptance of

the crucial role of nicotine, if it were to be conclusively demonstrated, would not put behavioral interventionists out of business.

 The inherent physiological or biochemical reinforcers in eating,

alcohol consumption, and drug use are well demonstrated, but behavioral interventions still compete well with pharmacological ones

in these domains. At the least, many smokers think that nicotine

is important for then. Joining rather than disputing this belief

may be more productive clinically.

Emphasis on cessation rather than maintenance. The great bulk

of all smoking intervention program, including behaviorally based

ones, focus on cessation or helping people stop smoking. Many programs end just about the time that the participants reach cessation,

and there is often little emphasis on helping participants learn

skills, attitudes, or cognitions that would help them maintain abstinence. Fortunately, them is now a discernible trend toward emphasizing maintenance, especially in the behavioral literature.

Bernstein's (1969; Bernstein & McAlister 1976) persistent pleading

has been helpful in this regard.

116
With respect to maintenance, however, investigators are beset with

the same conceptual and knowledge base deficits noted above. There

is good information about the shape of the relapse curve. Most

relapse occurs within three months after treatment has ended.

But relatively little is known about the factors that produce

relapse. This particular knowledge deficit is in large part

due, it is suggested, to still another misplaced emphasis: a focus

on individual difference predictors of relapse such as age, sex,

smoking history and the like. Situational processes in relapse

have been neglected. Since relapse is a common phenomenon across

all substance abuse areas, and since the relapse curves for different

substance abuses appear to be remarkably similar (Bunt & Bespalec

1974) a systematic attack on situational factors in relapse would

certainly seem called for. The work of Marlatt (in press) on alcoholic relapses provides a useful model.

At the conceptual level, there is need for a useful account of the

distinction between cessation and maintenance that could guide the

development of maintenance strategies. Cessation and maintenance

are thought be be affected by different processes, but these different

processes are not well understood.

Social-Political Problems

Social-political contingencies surround the conduct of smoking

cessation research. The point has been made elsewhere (Lichtenstein 1977) but is briefly repeated here because the policies and priorities of funding agencies can influence this issue.

The basic problem is simple. The social contingencies surrounding

most smoking intervention research, especially in academic settings,

lead to premature, controlled evaluations of treatment strategies.

Largely derived from armchair analyses without adequate pilot work,

they culminate in overly short followup, in order that thesis, dissertation, or publication deadlines can be met. Needed are settings

in which social learning workers can acquire clinical experience

with dependent smokers and use aclinical-developmental approach

to construct effective strategies and tactics. Such an approach

would begin with single subjects, proceed through clinical trials

evaluation, and eventuate in rigorous, controlled evaluations only

for those treatment strategies that show sufficient promise to warrant such an effort.

The remainder of this paper describes some recent work from the

Oregon Smoking Control Program, and occasionally that of others,

as it relates to several of the issues noted.

Modeling Effects in Smoking

There is remarkably little research looking at social or situational

variables as they affect smoking,in spite of the assumed importance

of these phenomena in most bebavioral smoking control pograms.

This is in sharp contrast to the great amount of research that has

focused on changes in smoking as a function of pharmacologic manipulations and the considerable work situational cues eliciting

117
alcohol consumption and eating. The study to be described was influenced by some recent mark on modeling effects in drinking, show

ing that drink consumption and sip rates can powerfully affected

by the behavior of a mode1 (e.g., Caudill & Marlatt 1975). Since

modeling effects with smoking had not yet been shown, the study

sought to optimize conditions to demonstrate such an effect (Antonuccio & Lichtenstein, in preparation).

Subjects were told that the purpose of the study was to test the

accuracy of a new saliva test as an indicator of smoking rate. They

were asked to refrain from smoking for an hour before each session,

and during the two sessions they were instructed to smoke at least

two of their own cigarettes in their usual way. Subjects were also

told that they could smoke additional cigarettes if they wished.

Sessions lasted 45 minutes.

Subjects were then informed that they would be tested in pairs, both

for the sake of efficiency, and also because another experimenter

wished to obtain some pilot data on naturally occurring social interaction. Because of the needs of the latter study, their interaction with the other subject would be observed and coded. This

manipulaticm provided the cover for coders taking data on the number

of cigarettes smoked, interval between cigarettes, puff rate, puff

duration, and other measures of smoking topography (Frederiksen,

Miller, & Peterson 1977).

Each subject was observed under both high- and low-rate mode1 conditions, with the order randomized. Depending on the experimental condition, the models smoked two or three cigarettes, waited 30 or 120

seconds between puffs, inhaled for one or three seconds, burned 50

percent or 80 percent of their cigarettes, and started their second

cigarette before or after the subject. The models were friendly, supportive and followed the subjects; conversational leads. Smoking

rate and topography measures provided to be highly reliable; agreement

on the dependent variables was 95 percent or better.

The results can be summarized succinctly. Subjects smoked significantly more cigarettes in the high-rate model condition than in the

low-node1 condition. The interval between cigarettes was also significantly shorter for the high-rate model condition. None of the

topography variables, such as puff rate, puff duration, or amoumt

of tobacco smoked, yielded any significant effects.

Subjects were a priori classified (and selected)as low rate,<pack

a day (x = 14.5) or high rate, >pack a day (X = 27) smokers. Contrary to expectation, there were no significant differences between

heavy and light smokers. It was expected that high-rate smokers

would be less susceptible to modeling effects than low-rate smokers,

whose smoking behavior is presumably less determined by nicotine

effects.

Though the range of smoking rates was considerably constrained by

the experimental setup, a modeling effect on rate was clearly demonstrated. On the other hand, topography remained virtually the same

118
under both experimental conditions. Topography may consist of relatively stereotypical performances that are executed in similar

ways irrespective of the situation. Social circumstances affect

whether and when one lights up a cigarette but not how ones smokes

that cigarette.

Nicotine Dependency and Nicotine Fading

As was noted, behavioral treatment programs have tended to ignore

the possible role of nicotine dependency. This omission may undermine behavioral treatment programs in two ways. First, to the extent that there are genuine nicotine dependency effects, at least

in heavy smokers, difficulties can be anticipated if programs fail

to deal with them. Second, and more speculatively, since many

smokers believe that nicotine dependency is a part of their problem,

behavioral programs may not seem credible or may appear inconsistent

with the smokers' own cognitions concerning their behavior.

Nicotine fading is a recently developed, nonaversive and convenient

procedure that is congruent with the nicotine hypothesis and "joins"

smokers Cognitions about the role of nicotine in their habit After

a baseline week, the smoker progressively switches to designated

lower tar and nicotine brands, a new brand each week for three weeks,

usually finishing with a .lO mg. brand. The subject also selfmonitors smoking rate and estimates and graphs daily tar and nicotine consumption. Because the smokers' task during this phase of

treatment is simply to smoke the designated brand of cigarette rather

than try to quit, initial success--reduced tar and nicotine consumption-is virtually assured, enhancing the smokers' expectations of

success. At the beginning of the program, a target quitting date

is set, usually after one week of smoking the lowest tar and nicotine brand.

Initial work with this procedure appears promising (Brown 1977; Foxx

& Brown in press; Beaver, Brwn & Lichtenstein, in preparation). The

studies, admittedly with small numbers of smokers, have yielded an

abstinence rate of appromximately 50 percent three and six months

posttreatment. Table 1 displays followup data from Brown's (1977)

thesis. Also of interest is the observation that the majority of

persons who continue or resume smoking stayed with the low tar and

nicotine brands they smoked during the last phase of the program.

Smoking rate did not appear to increase, but it is not knom whether

dosage levels were affected by compensatory changes in the topography of smoking.

Relapse and Resumption

Accounts of smoking behavior have focused on three stages in the

evolution of the behavior: initiation, maintenance, and cessation.

But many smokers go through still a fourth stage when they resume

smoking after having stopped for a period of time, often a long

period of time. Considering the potential importance of the relapse phenomenon, it is surprising how little systematic work there

is on the processes involved. Therefore, an exploratory study was

119
TABLE 1

Treatment Condition

Nicotine Fading

self-monitoring

Nicotine Fading & Self-monitoring

American Cancer Society program

Abstinent

l/10

0/8

5/10

l/l0

Reduced T/N

Brand

5/10

4/8

5/10

3/10

Baseline (or

Higher) T/N

Brand

4/10

4/8

0/10

6/10

Proportion of subjects in each treatment condition

reporting abstinence, consumption of reduced tar/

nicotine brand, and consumption of baseline (or

higher) tar/nicotine brand of cigarettes at b-month

followup. Data reprinted with permission of Society

for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, Inc.,

@1979, from Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,

Vol. 12, No. 1, spring 1979.
undertaken in which persons-who had-been abstinent for at least

two weeks and then had relapsed were intensively interviewed

(Lichtenstein, Antonuccio, & Rainwater, in preparation). Most

subjects were unaided quitters. Two weeks of abstinence was required in order to minimize physiological withdrawal effects and

maximize the role of situational and cognitive factors.

The interview was focused around a tentative model of the relapse

process that identified three phases. The first and least observable phase was the period before the first cigarette was consumed.

The presence and intensity of urges to smoke and cognitions about

smoking were the major concern. The second phase was the actual

relapse episode, the smoking of the first cigarette or series of

cigarettes. The interview focused on the situation and circumstances involved, including feelings and cognitions immediately preceding and following the taking of the first cigarettes. The third

phase was the period from the taking of the first cigarette until

the return to baseline levels of smoking. Smoking urges and cognitions again were of principal interest.

A methodological weakness in the study is the retrospective nature

of the relapse accounts. The median interval between the relapse

episode and the interview was 22 weeks. The data are not fully

analyzed but some interesting trends have emerged. Nearly all subjects reported a deduction in both the frequency and intensity of

smoking urges between the time they quit smoking and relapse. Re

lapse was less consistently triggered by stress or negative emotional states than was anticipated. The modal relapse situation

involved a social contact with one or more friends, at least one of

whom smoked, in which alcohol was often involved, and was about

equally divided between pleasant and unpleasant affect.

Maintenance

The final sections sketches three alternative but not mutually exclusive maintenance strategies and briefly indicates sane of the

work done at Oregon guided by these notions.

The three maintenance strategies are tentatively labeled: social

support, coping skills, and cognitive restructuring. Central to

the social support approach is the notion that the support and/or

influence of a group can help the individual sustain the necessary

motivation in other to maintain some standard of behavior such as

not smoking,not drinking,or not using certai drugs. In the area

of substance abuse, the social support strategy has along history,

exemplified by such programs as Alcoholics Anonymus, Synanon, and

Weight Watchers. Systematic inplementation and evaluation of

social support strategies, however, are few.

they are almost nonexistent.

With respect to smoking,

This is surprising, given the frequent

use of "buddy systems" in such programs as the Five-Day Plan.

The coping skills approach, the social learning favorite, assumes

that the individual lacks the needed knowledge and skills to become

a permanent nonsmoker. What is required is training in dealing with

121

300-345 0 - 79 - 9
the discomfort involved in depriving oneself of cigarettes, in

developing substitute responses that would replace smoking, in

learning to recognize and modify the cues (discriminative stimuli)

antecedent to the smoking act, and in altering the consequences

of smoking. Many of these strategies and tactics have been encompassed under the rubric of "self-control" (Thoresen & Mahoney

1974) and have been applied to smoking reduction in a number of

studies (cf. Lichtenstein & Danaher 1976; Pechacek 1979).

Coping skills may also be recognized as the social learning approach

to drinking and obesity.

The cognitive restructuring approach to maintenance is the most

difficult to define and the least well developed with respect to

smoking. This approach assumes that some change must occur "within

the head" in order for behavior change to endure. Such changes may

involve attitudes, self-perceptions, or covert verbalization. The

application of attribution theory (kopel & Arkowitz 1975) is one

variation within the cognitive framework that has been applied to

smoking (Kopel 1974; Colletti & Kopel in press).

Coping skills. As good behaviorists, we in the Oregon program have

emphasized the coping skills approach. Prior work with rapid smoking

was quite promising (e.g., Lichtenstein et al. 1973), but even these

relatively successful programs had relapse rates of about 50 percent.

A guiding assumption was that aversion was useful in producing inMediate Cessation but coping skills would be necessary to maintain

abstinence. Dissertation studies by Brian Danaher (l977) and Russ

Glasgow (in press) were of similar design format. Rapid smoking 

only was compared to rapid smoking plus coping skills training.

Appropriate control groups were also employed. The results for improving maintenance were discouraging with respect to coping skill

training. Neither Danaher nor Glasgow was able to demonstrate any

incremental effect from adding fairly extensive self-management

training programs to the basic rapid smoking procedure. Both studies employed what seemed to be reasonable and basic behavioral coping skills training: stimulus control analysis, substitute behaviors,

relaxation,and urge managanent, Danaher's program was more extensive; G1asgow opted to focus on more intensive training of fewer

procedures. But the results were relatively similar.

A recent study, and one still being evaluated at followup, followed

Pechacek's (1977) lead in introducing anxiety management training

for smokers with high anxiety levels (Beaver, Brown, ‘& Lichtenstein,

unpublished). Pechacek's data had suggested that this might improve

the maintenance performance of subjects with high but not low levels

of anxiety. This time, however, coping skills training was combined

with the nicotine fading procedure noted above. The results again were

that anxiety management did not increase the effectiveness of the basic

Program and, in fact, subjects who received anxiety management tended

to do worse than those not receiving it.

It is puzzling why the coping skills training programs were not more

effective. Perhaps, as in architecture, "less is more." Subjects

may have been given more concepts and techniques than they could

122
assimilate and use. Many multicomponent programs have yielded similar results, but a few have been more successful (e.g., Chapman,

Smith & Layden 1971; Lando 1977).

It is possible that the particular coping skills chosen and/or the

methods of teaching them were not optimal. There is often uncertainty as to whether subjects really practice and use what they are

being taught. Glasgow's (in press) follow-through data indicated

that, at least by their self-report, subjects were quite faithful,

but inadequate practice and application may yet be an issue. A practical problem is getting subjects to maintain their motivation to

continue working on a maintenance program after they have reached

cessation. Conducting sessions in natural settings such as restaurants and taverns may promote effective application of coping skills.

Social support. Two small pilot studies exploring the social support

approach have been conducted. The first was an attempt to replicate

and extend an interesting study by Janis and Hoffman (1970),who

found that subjects paired with a "buddy" smoked significantly less

at followup than controls. 'Ibis WC& even though subjects did

not maintain contact with their buddies after the treatment program

was over. A similar buddy system was combined with rapid smoking in

a design format similar to that used by Danaher and Glasgow, and

unfortunately, with similar results(Rodrigues & Lichtenstein,unpublished). The introduction of buddy system again did not improve

on rapid smoking only. Given the pervasiveness of buddy-like systems in many programs for substance abuse problems, the strategy

deserves further investigation.

The second study also evolved from a combination of real world practice and social psychological theory (Rodrigues & Lichtenstein, unpublished). In many substance,abuse programs, former sufferers come

to save as helpers with persons who are trying to kick the habit.

The interaction is presumably helpful to both parties. Social psychological notions of role playing and self-perception suggest such

helping activity would strengthen the helpers' own maintenance efforts (Kopel & Arkowitz 1975). Using a similar incremental design,

rapid smoking only was compared to rapid smoking plus serving as a

therapeutic assistant with another subject. The therapeutic assistants both administered rapid smoking and also provided information,

advice and encouragement based on their own experience. while therapeutic assistants tended to maintain treatment gains better than nonhelpers, the results did not reach significance.

A similar but independent study has recently been conducted by colletti and Kope1 (in press)who also incorporated an evaluation of

the cognitive restructuring approach. In their design, members of

one group served as participants in the treatment of another

smoker and were required to perform a good deal of therapeutic

activitv: a second group served as observers of treatment who could . ,

participate at their own option. Originally it was predicted

that participants would show greater maintenance than observers because they would be more involved and have more opportunity for

self-perception and role playing effects to occur. The data instead

123
Showed that observers maintained better. In reformulating their

hypothesis; Colletti and Kopel suggested that the participants were

externally were coerced to participate, whereas the observers were in a

better position to make self-attributions about their participation

and the resulting changes. An Important finding was that posttreatment ratings of self-attribution of smoking reduction were significantly correlated With smoking reduction at six month followup.

Attribution of changes is an important aspect of the cognitive restructuring approach.

The development of effective treatments for substance abuse will be

facilitated both by an expanded knowledge base and by more consistent

use of theory to guide intervention efforts. Social learning approaches to substance abuse likely would profit from more serious

consideration of social support and cognitive restructuring strategies, probably in combination with coping skills and contingency

management methods. Recent developments in methodology and measurement procedures, together with a growing realization of what the

important issues are, should yield better theory and more effective

technology.

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AUTHOR

Edward Lichtenstein, Ph.D.

Department of Psychology

University, of Oregon

Eugene, Oregon 97403

127
Chapter 9

Controlled Smoking

Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

This paper will focus on four main topics: The nature of smoking

risk; our working model of smoking behavior; a behaviorally-based

approach to risk reduction, called controlled smoking; and a brief

discussion of some possible commonalities among behavioral approaches

to substance abuse.

ON THE NATURE OF SMOKING RISK

A logical starting point is reviewing why we wish to control smoking

behavior. It seems safe to say that the main problem with smoking

is health-related. The weight of the evidence clearly indicates that

smoking can be a dangerous behavior. This danger can arise from a

variety of sources, e.g., fire, accidents, cancer, emphysema,

bronchitis, coronary heart disease. If we exclude risks such as

fire and accidents, fact of central importance to the controlled

smoking approach emerges. For the smoking-related diseases mentioned above, the health risk is dose-related. That is, the greater the dose of the harmful constituents of tobacco smoke (e.g.,

CO, tar, nicotine), the greater the risk (USPHS 1971, 1975; Van

Lancker 1977).

Pose is determined by the interaction of three factors. (1) Substance -- pipe vs. cigarette, high vs. low tar, nicotine and

CO yield, tobacco moisture, etc. (2) Smoking rate — episodes of

smoking per unit time. (3) Smoking topography — number of puffs,

puff intensity, depth of inhalation, amount of tobacco smoked, etc.

It is important to emphasize that risk involves the interaction of

these’ three components: For example, switching to a pipe or cigar

is safer than cigarettes if, and only if, the smoker doesn’t inhale

(Goldman 1977). Similarly, reducing smoking rate may be of little

benefit if the person compensates by changing brands or taking more

frequent, deeper puffs. This is an important consideration, since

compensation has been observed (Goldfarb, Gritz, Jarvik, and

Stolerman 1976; Russell 1974; Schachter 1978).

128
A WORKING MODEL OF SMOKING BEHAVIOR

A comprehensive approach to smoking risk reduction requires both an

understanding of the nature of smoking risk and a model of smoking behavior. Such a working model, while subject to revision,

should be both consistent with our current knowledge and heuristic.

The model we employ has two essential features (see Frederiksen

and Simon, in press, for a more detailed presentation).

1. Smoking is controlled by multiple factors. These factors may be

classified in temporal relationship to an episode of smoking (i.e.,

antecedents, concomitants, and consequences) as well as by the level

of each factor involved (i.e., physiological, cognitive, behavioral,

and situational). The resulting matrix allows for the inclusion of

diverse factors such as the nicotine regulation (Jarvik 1977;

Schachter 1978), temporal control (Epstein and McCoy 1978; Frederiksen

and Frazier 1978), “affective” factors (Ikard and Tomkins 1973), and

situational influences (Best and Hakstian, in press; Collins and

Epstein, in press). Interventions could be and in fact have been)

aimed at almost any single factor or group of resulting factors (cf.

Fredericksen and Simon, in press).

2. Control is individualized. This second feature of the model

simply states that it is not assumed that the configuration and

relative importance of controlling variables are the same across

smokers. For example, the stimulant properties of nicotine may be

critically important for one smoker and almost irrelevant for another.

Likewise, one smoker may be strongly influenced by the presence of

other smokers (modeling effect), while another smoker is not influenced

at all. The point is that intersmoker commonalities or differences

must be empirically demonstrated, not assumed.

THE CONTROLLED SMOKING APPROACH

Historically, behavioral approaches to smoking risk reduction have

overwhelmingly focused on smoking rate reduction, with total

abstinence being the goal (Frederiksen and Simon, in press). This

pattern has been associated with several unfortunate practices. (1)

Measurement has focused on smoking rate to the exclusion of substance

and topography. An analysis of these critically important components

of smoking risk is omitted. (2) There is little research effort

devoted to those subjects that are unable to quit. What happens to

their smoking risk? If smokers "relapse" they could be back at

the preintervention starting point or possibly worse off than if they

had never participated in a program at all. The point is, we simply

don’t know. (3) These approaches typically offer little to the

smoker who is unwilling to quit entirely. In most cases they are

either not seen at all or given nonspecific advice to “cut down," .

usually referring to a reduction in smoking rats.

One alternative approach is called controlled smoking. It was

developed to be applicable to a wider range of smokers, taking into

account our model of smoking behavior and the nature of smoking risk.

The essential characteristics of the controlled smoking approach, to

be taken up in turn, are: (1) comprehensive measurement; (2) individualized goals; (3) emphasis on regulation; (4) skill development

approach to treatment.

129
1. Comprehensive Measurement. Given that smoking risk arises from

multiple characteristics of the consumption pattern and that this

pattern is influenced by multiple variables, the need for comprehensive measurement becomes apparent. Further, as is common

among behavioral approaches, measurement should be ongoing or

continuous. Such comprehensive and continuous measurement can

play a key role in the experimental analysis and modification of

smoking behavior.

The variables measured can be roughly divided into two categories.

The first includes those variables that are thought to be potentially

important in the regulation or control of smoking behavior (table 1).

These regulation-related variables are derived from the model of

smoking behavior presented earlier.

TABLE 1

VARIABLES MEASURED WITHIN A CONTROLLED SMOKING APPROACH

Category of Variable Examples

Regulation-Related

Antecedents

Concomitants

Consequences

Risk-Related

"Urges," time of day, location,

activity

Enjoyment, presence of others,

activity

Subjective feelings, physiological

changes, activity, location

Rate

Substance

Topography

Cigarettes per day, cigars per day

Pipe vs. cigar vs. cigarette; tar,

nicotine and CO yield

Number of puffs, puff duration,

cigarette duration, amount of

tobacco burned, CO boost

The second major category of variables assessed is risk-related

(table 1). These variables are related to the analysis of

smoking risk presented above. It should, of course, be noted that

the distinction between regulation-and risk-related variables is

somewhat artificial.

(e.g., nicotine uptake) can be both risk-and regulation-related.

For example, certain physiological changes

While most of these variables are rather straightforward and have

been previously measured, one set is relatively more novel and

deserves comment. This set is smoking topography. Our assessment

of smoking topography is laboratory-based (see Frederiksen, Miller,

and Peterson 1977; Frederiksen and Simon, 1978a, 1978b, for

procedural details). The person is simply instructed to “smoke a

cigarette.” This smoking episode is videotaped and scored for a

range of behavioral variables (see Table 1). In addition, the

smoker is asked to give a numerical enjoyment rating (0-10 scale),

130
and measures of CO boost are obtained. CO boost is defined as the

change in alveolar carbon monoxide (CO,) levels associated with smoking

Under normal circumstances, CO level tends gradually to decay (a

natural physiological process). However, when a cigarette is

consumed, CO level shows a marked increase. This increase is called

the CO boost. One important characteristic of CO boost is that it

is variable. That is, it depends on what is smoked and how it is

smoked (Frederiksen and Martin, in press). This intersubject

variability is illustrated in figure 1, which shows the distribution

of CO boost across 53 cigarette smokers. These data were collected

by sampling COa immediately before and two minutes after the

smoker consumed a cigarette.

Besides being related to smoking behavior, CO boost also serves as

an index of the severity of smoking risk. This arises from the

finding that CO is in and of itself a smoking risk. Further, CO

may serve as a convenient marker for other risk factors. Since CO

is a component of the tobacco smoke one might logically assume that

(holding substance constant) greater CO uptake would indicate greater

“tar” and nicotine uptake.

of COa assessment is great.

If this is in fact the case, the utility

In sum CO boost analysis can provide a

sensitive, physiological indicator of both smoking topography and

smoking risk (Frederiksen and Martin 1979).

2. Individualized Goals. A second important characteristic of the

controlled smoking approach is that it emphasizes individualized

goals. It equally accomodates smokers who wish to minimize risk

by “cutting down” and those who wish to quit entirely. The specific

goal to be pursued depends both upon the smoker’s preference and

his/her current smoking pattern. For example, an individual smoker

may present with the goal of “cutting down.” After an initial

assessment it may become clear that this goal will require both a

brand switch and a reduction in rate. Smoking topography would be

monitored but modified only as necessary.

wish to cut down.

A second smoker may also

inhale each deeply. In this case, topography change would be the

He may smoke only a few cigars each day but

main target.

Total abstinence is probably the most frequently selected goal. If

abstinence is the goal, we will usually also teach the individual

principles of risk reduction. The rationale for this approach is

that such knowledge will be potentially useful in the event that the

person "relapses." It may also be beneficial for abstinenceoriented smokers to pursue a nonzero goal, i.e., less than one

cigarette per day. The purpose of such a goal is to counter feelings

of deprivation associated with self-statements such as “I can never

have another cigarette” (cf.Frederiksen, Peterson and Murphy 1976).

3. Emphasis on Regulation. The emphasis in the controlled smoking

approach is on regulation and control rather than suppression of

behavior. This places a premium on functionally analyzing variables

that exert control over smoking risk rather than simply on suppressing

cigarette consumption. The smokers are taught what they should do

rather than focusing on what they should not do. This difference in

131

emphasis may be more heuristic than between-group comparisons of different suppression techniques (McFall 1978).

4. Skill Development Approach to Treatment. In keeping with the

above emphasis, treatment involves the development and maintenance

of skills that may be useful in the regulation of risk. These skills

tend to fall into three main categories.

The first set of skills are those useful in the measurement and

functional analysis of smoking. The smoker learns to self-monitor

smoking rate, antecedents to smoking,

These may be behavioral,

concomitants, and consequences.

subjective, or situational.

Another possibility we are pursuing (Martin and Frederiksen,

unpublished) is teaching individuals to predict physiological

variables (CO level) as a step in control. When individuals have

learned to monitor this range of variables, they learn to functionally

analyze smoking. Put another way, they learn to detect commonalities

in the antecedents and consequences that control smoking.

The second set of skills might be labeled general coping skills.

These are skills that may be useful in coping with stress, resisting

social pressure, managing one’s own behavior, etc. Examples of these

skills include refusal training, relaxation training, exercise,

education regarding health, self-management, how to gather social

support for efforts at quitting, etc. The important point is that

these skills are not risk-specific nor do they deal with the abused

substance directly. Let’s take the example of exercise. The

rationale for encouraging exercise is that it is healthful and may

prove to be a substitute for smoking. It is an indirect technique

for reducing smoking. Further, one would teach essentially the same

exercise skills if the client were a smoker, a problem drinker, a

problem eater, or drug abuser.

The third and final set of skills is risk-specific to the abused

substance (cigarettes, cigars, pipes) as well as the smoker’s individual use pattern.

substance (e.g.,

Here we would teach the person to change

switch from a high- to low-tar cigarette),

reduce smoking rate, or alter smoking topography. Since these

are conceptualized as skills, we train them as you would any

other skill. We tell the person what to do. show him/her (model

the response), have him practice the new behavior, and provide

reinforcement for changes. The structuring of the reinforcement is

often done within the framework of a behavioral contract (Frederiksen

et al. 1976).

To illustrate this process I will present topography change data from

a 26-year-old female smoker (Frederiksen and Simon 1978a). ‘Ibis

individual had a nine-year history of smoking and was consuming an

average of 23 low tar/nicotine cigarettes, (8 mg tar, .6 mg nicotine)

per day. The smoker attended laboratory sessions twice daily. Topography change instructions were introduced in a multiple baseline fashion (Frederiksen 1976) during morning sessions, while afternoon sessions

served as a measure of generalization. During baseline the smoker

was taking 8 to 9 puffs per cigarette. With the introduction of

133
instructions to reduce puff frequency, the number of puffs taken

decreased to about 5 or 6 (figure 2). When instructions to reduce

puff duration were subsequently introduced, this variable decreased

from about 2.5 seconds per puff to just over 1 second per puff.

Finally, following the introduction of instructions to reduce

cigarette duration, this variable decreased from approximately 7

minutes per cigarette to about 4 minutes per cigarette. These

changes were accompanied by a gradual reduction in the amount of

tobacco burned. In addition, all of the positive changes were

maintained at each of six monthly followups (figure 2).

Of particular importance is the effect of these topography changes

on CO boost. During baseline. this individual had a mean CO boost

of 8 ppm. During followup this boost was reduced to a mean of 2.1

ppm. The potential cumulative impact of this change is apparent if

one assumes that this laboratory assessment is somewhat representative

of smoking outside the laboratory. By multiplying the mean baseline

boost (8 ppm) by the baseline smoking’ rate (23 cigarettes per day) one

obtains a cumulative daily boost of 184 ppm. Following topography

change, the same basic calculation (2.1 ppm boost, 23 cigarettes her

day) would yield a cumulative daily boost of 48.3 ppm. In this

particular case the topography change phase was followed by a rate

reduction phase (using contingency contracting). During rate reduction,

smoking was reduced slightly from 23 cigarettes per day to 18

cigarettes per day. Consequently this subject’s cumulative daily

boost following treatment (2.1 ppm, 18 cigarettes per day) was

reduced to 38 ppm from a preintervention baseline of 184 ppm. Viewed

from this perspective, the clinical potential of this approach is

readily apparent.

COMMONALITIES

It is with a good bit of caution that I approach this section on

commonalities in behavioral approaches. First, there is probably no

clear definition of a behavioral approach. As researchers in the

various areas become more sophisticated, there is a greater appreciation of the roles of physiology and cognitive activity, making the distinction between behavioral and nonbehavioral difficult

indeed. Second, there is little empirical data either to confirm or

deny the validity of the whole notion of substance abuse. Consequently,

the following commonalities should be viewed more as hypotheses or

suggestions’ than as statements of fact.

1.

have focused our efforts on suppressing “deviant” or abusive behavior.

The first commonality is primarily historical. In the past we

Emphasis was on the eradication of certain behaviors. This has

resulted in rather homogeneous treatment goals -- usually abstinence.

At times it seems that we have lost sight of our real treatment goals.

Russell (1977) makes this point nicely with regard to smoking;

however, the same argument is more widely applicable. He argues that

“At times it has seemed that the ultimate goal is to prevent and stop

people from smoking. Yet this is merely secondary. The primary goal

is surely to reduce and prevent smoking-related disease” (p.14).

Not only have our goals been homogeneous, but there has been great

134
FIGURE 2

Topography change for a female cigarette

smoker

135
similarity in our treatment formats. Smoking and obesity interventions

are typically delivered in “clinic” formats with weekly group sessions.

Certainly there is nothing about these problems that would indicate

that a weekly meeting should foster maximal behavior change. For example, why not brief daily meetings? The same argument applies to alcohol and drug abuse interventions. Is inpatient treatment optimal?

Finally, there has been an excessive homogeneity of dependent variables.

The clearest example of this has been in smoking research, where smoking

rate is used almost to the exclusion of other measures (cf. Frederiksen

and Simon, in press).

advantages,

While standardization clearly has some

any single measure may be inadequate (see the section

on the Nature of Smoking Risk above). Dr. Wooley’s innovative work

on obesity (in this volume) also makes this point nicely when she

shifts some of the emphasis from absolute body weight to how the

individual “adjusts” to a given weight.

2. Behavioral approaches seem to be placing an increasing emphasis

on regulation and the controlled use of substances. To some extent

this has always been the case with diet regulation, but a greater

willingness to investigate methadone maintenance. controlled drinking.

and co&rolled smoking-seems to be extending this trend. There also

seems to be an emerging emphasis on health and “adjustment” as being

issues of overriding importance.

3. There has been a trend toward the assessment and experimental

evaluation of consumption behavior per se. For example, rather than

labeling an individual an alcoholic, we are starting to focus

on the behaviors of interest. What is the specific consumption

pattern? What variables control consumatory behavior? This

methodological shift is an important one since the direct, objective

observation and functional analysis of specific behaviors are

critical elements of the ‘behavioral approach” (Baer, Wolf and Risley

1968).

4. There seems to be a greater awareness of the interaction among

“substances with abuse potential.” For example, the facilitative

effects of ethanol on smoking behaviors have been experimentally

analyzed (Griffiths, Bigelow and Liebson 1976) . This increasing

emphasis will likely form the empirical base for the concept of

substance abuse.

5. The therapeutic approaches to abuse of various substances also

seem to share considerable common ground. Many approaches emphasize

monitoring skills and general coping skills, as well as a number of

substance-specific skills. Further, the use of systematic consequation

(via contingency management, token economies or behavioral contracts) is

quite common. This commonality suggests that there may be a

possibility of developing a “core approach” to substance abuse.

Further, therapeutic advances in one area may also be readily

transferable to others.

6. Maintenance of behavior change has emerged as a concern separate

from the induction of change. Procedures useful in inducing initial

change may be ineffective in fostering maintenance. Related problems

136
include the issues of treatment adherence and dropouts. The

emergence of dropouts, adherence, and “relapses” as important,

shared concerns may foster the development of improved therapeutic

procedures that can benefit all areas of substance abuse.

SUMMARY

The health risks of smoking are related to the interaction of what

is smoked, smoking rate, and the topography of consumption. Assessment

and treatment efforts should take all three of these factors into

account. A working model of smoking behavior is proposed which

involves the consideration of antecedents, concomitants, and

consequences of smoking on cognitive, behavioral, situational and

physiological levels. Further, the relative importance of these

factors is not assumed to be the same across individuals.

An approach to smoking risk reduction, called controlled smoking, is

proposed which includes the elements of: (1) comprehensive assessment,

(2) individualized goals, (3) emphasis on regulation, and (4) a skill

development approach to treatment. Finally, some possible

commonalities among behavioral approaches to substance abuse are

presented.

REFERENCES

Baer, D.M.; Wolf, M.M.; and Risley, T.R. Some current dimensions of’

applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,

1: 91-97, 1968.

Best, J.A., and Hakstian, A.R. A situation-specific model for

smoking behavior. Addictive Behaviors, in press.

Collins, F., and Epstein, L.H. Temporal analysis of cigarette

smoking. Addictive Behaviors, in press.

Epstein, L.H., and Collins, F. The measurement of situational

influences on smoking. Addictive Behaviors, 2: 47-53, 1977.

Frederiksen, L.W. Single-case designs in the modification of

smoking. Addictive Behaviors, 1: 311-319, 1976.

Frederiksen, L.W., and Frazier, M. Temporal distribution of smoking.

Addictive Behaviors, 2: 187-192, 1977.

Frederiksen, L.W., and Martin, J.E. Carbon monoxide and smoking

behavior. Addictive Behaviors, 4:21-30, 1979.

Frederiksen, L.W.; Miller, P.M.; and Peterson, G.L. Topographical

components of smoking behavior. Addictive Behaviors, 2: 55-61, 1977.

Frederiksen, L.W., Peterson, G.L., and Murphy, W.D. Controlled

smoking: Development and maintenance. Addictive Behaviors, 1:

193-196, 1976.

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300-345 0 - 79 - 10
Frederiksen, L.W., and Simon, S.J. Abstract of: Modifying how people

smoke: Instructional control and generalization. Journal of Applied

Behavior Analysis, 11: 431-432, 1978a.

Frederiksen, L.W., and Simon, S.J. Modification of smoking behavior.

In R.S. Davidson, ed., Modification of Pathological Behavior. New

York: Gardner Press, in press.

Frederiksen, L.W., and Simon, S.J. Modification of smoking

topography: A preliminary analysis. Behavior Therapy, 9:946-949, 1978b.

Goldfarb, T.; Gritz, E.R.; Jarvik, M.E.; and Stolerman, I.P.

Reactions to cigarettes as a function of nicotine and "tar."

Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 19: 767-772, 1976.

Goldman, A.L. Carboxyhemoglobin levels in primary and secondary

cigar and pipe smokers. Chest, 72: 33-35, 1977,.

Griffiths, R.R., Bigelow, G.E., and Liebson, I. Facilitation of

human tobacco self-administration by ethanol: A behavioral analysis.

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 25: 279-292, 1976.

Ikard, F.F., and Tomkins, S. The experience of affect as a

determinant of smoking behavior: A series of validity studies.

Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 81: 172-181, 1973.

Jarvik, M.E. Biological factors underlying the smoking habit. In:

Research on Smoking Behavior, National Institute on Drug Abuse Research

Monograph 17. Jarvik, M.E. et al., eds. DHEW Pub. No. (ADM)78-581.

Washington, D.C.: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing

Office, 1977.

Martin, J.E., and Frederiksen, L.W. The discrimination of carbon

monoxide levels by smokers, unpublished manuscript.

McFall, R.M. Smoking-cessation research. Journal of Consulting

and Clinical Psychology, 47: 703-712, 1978.

Russell, M.A.H. Realistic goals for-smoking and health: A case

for safer smoking. Lancet, 1: 254-258, 1974.

Russell, M.A.H. Smoking problems: an overview. In: Research on

Smoking Behavior, National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Monograph

17. Jarvik, ME et al., eds. DHEW Pub. No. (ADM) 78-581. Washington,

D.C.: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,

1977.

Schachter, S. Pharmacological and psychological determinants of

smoking. Annals of Internal Medicine, 1: 104-114, 1978.

United States Public Health Service. The health consequences of

smoking. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Health,

Education and Welfare, 1971.

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United States Public Health Service. The health consequences of

smoking. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Health,

Van Lancker, J. Smoking and disease. In: Research on Smoking Behavior, National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Monograph 17. Jarvik,

M.E. et al., eds. DHEW Pub. No. (ADM)78-581. Washington, D.C.:

Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1977.

AUTHOR

Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

Department of Psychology

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Blacksburg, Virginia 24061

139
Chapter 10

Commonalities in the Treatment

and Understanding of Smoking and

Other Self-Management Disorders

Ovide F. Pomerleau, Ph.D.

INTRODUCTION

Cigarette smoking, excessive-consumption of ethanol, excessive eating,

and the use of heroin constitute clinical entities in their own right—

with separate basic and applied research traditions and clinical lore.

These disorders, however, can also be conceptualized more generally as

self-management problems. This paper will examine treatment and research related to the above disorders in an attempt to identify common

features. Smoking will be emphasized, and the problem of recidivism —

a major challenge for current treatment in each clinical area-will be

used as a point of departure for suggesting research which could lead

to the development of more rational, improved therapies.

A SOCIAL, LEARNING ANALYSIS OF SELF-MANAGEMENT DISORDERS

Social learning theory has functioned less as a formal explanatory model

for specific clinical problems than as a general methodological approach

with an associated intervention technology (Pomerleau 1979). Since the

social learning approach to the understanding and treatment of the

several disorders under review is similar, smoking will be examined here

in some detail for purposes of illustration.

The basic premise of social learning theory is that smoking is a learned

behavior and that it can be modified using learning and conditioning

strategies. According to the model, inhalation of smoke is aversive

initially. Then, typically as a result of peer pressure, with practice

smoking begins to produce sufficient positive reinforcement in its own

right to be sustained independently of extrinsic social reinforcement.

Various events (internal and external) now begin to control smoking.

By virtue of being associated with smoking, some situations, such as an

empty cigarette pack or an annoying telephone call, may serve as conditional stimuli (CS's) which elicit covert responses. These reactions

(physiological or cognitive responses perceived as craving) increase the

likelihood of smoking by serving as discriminative stimuli (SD's), setting the occasion for the reinforcement provided by smoking. Various

environmental cues, such as the sight of a cigarette, can also function

as secondary reinforcers for behaviors preceding them (e.g., purchasing

140
a pack of cigarettes) and as discriminative stimuli for behaviors which

follow (e.g., lighting the cigarette), thus forming a complex chain of

behaviors or a smoking ritual. Smoking is conceptualized as a behavior

which receives direct positive reinforcement through consmption as well

as negative reinforcement through termination or avoidance of aversive

withdrawal states.

From the social learning perspective, smoking is resistant to modification because it is overlearned: at ten puffs per cigarette, the smoking

behavior of a pack-a-day smoker is reinforced more than 70,000 times

per year--a frequency unmatched by any other form of drug taking (Russell

1977). Smoking cam also be seen as a maladaptive behavior more under

the influence of immediate reinforcers of relatively small magnitude

than of delayed aversive consequences of considerably greater magnitude

(i.e., serious illness or death). The behavioral self-management strategy of interfering with the reinforcers which maintain smoking while

making delayed aversive consequences more potent is derived from this

conceptualization (Rachlin and Green 1972).

Consistent with the above analysis, two main lines of behavioral treatment have evolved, emphasizing either the use of positive reinforcement

techniques and employing stimulus control and contingency management

procedures (Levinson, Shapiro, Schwartz et al. 1971; Elliott and Tighe

1968) or emphasizing the use of negative reinforcement and aversive conditioning techniques and employing escape/avoidance or punishment procedures (e.g., Best and Steffy 1975; Cautela 1967; Powell and Azrin

1968; Resnick 1968; Steffy, Meichenbaum, and Best 1970). The

emergence of clinic programs based on these behavioral approaches has

been associated with an improvement in treatment results (Bernstein

and McAlister 1976; Bernstein and Glasgow 1979). In most nonbehavioral

clinics, fewer than half the smokers quit (e.g., Guilford 1972) and, of

those who quit, only 25 percent to 30 percent are abstinent 9 to 18

months later (Hunt and Bespalec 1974); the estimated long term abstinence rate in nonbehavioral treatment is about 13 percent (McFall and

Hamnen 1971). In contrast, current reviews of behavioral treatment

indicate long term sustained abstinence rates in excess of 33 percent

for both positive reinforcement and aversive conditioning approaches,

in the context of comprehensive treatment programs (e.g., Lichtenstein

and Penner 1977; Pomerleau, Adkins, and Pertschuk 1978).

AN EXAMPLE OF MULTICOMPONENT BEHAVIROL TREATMENT

The earliest practical multicomponent program using a stimulus control/

contingency management approach was developed for weight reduction by

Stuart (1967). Similar procedures have been used for other self-management disorders such as alcoholism (e.g., Pomerleau, Adkins, and

Pertschuk 1978) and smoking (e.g., Pomerleau and Ciccone 1974). These

concepts have also been used as components in drug treatment but, to

date, very few comprehensive programs have been attempted. Since the

program developed for smoking cessation at the Center for Behavioral

141
Medicine is fairly representative, it will be used here to illustrate

the approach.

The treatment procedure, typically conducted by two therapists, was provided for groups of 8 to 10 smokers, meeting in 90-minute sessions once

a week for two months during treatment and at increasing intervals over

ten months during followup. There were four overlapping phases:

(1) baseline--including the initial interview and first therapy session;

(2) reduction--the second through the fourth session; (3) abstinence+-

the fifth through the eighth session; and (4) followup — five additional

sessions. Treatment consisted of an integrated sequence of instructions

for dealing with various aspects of quitting smoking, as described in

the self-help book, Break the smoking Habit (Pomerleau and Pomerleau

1977; pp. 95-96):

In the baseline phase, smokers are interviewed and fill out

forms for smoking history and demographic information. A prepaid treatment fee of $50 is required. A "commitment fee"

(Chapman, Smith, and Layden 1971) of $50 is also requested;

this fee is not returned if the participant drops out of treatment, but it can be earned back in its entirety by keeping

daily records of smoking ($10 award based on completeness, not

content, and $40 for attending followup sessions). In the

first week of treatment, participants smoke at their usual

rate and keep a daily record of each cigarette consumed, indicating time, place, with whom, mood, and degree of craving.

Active treatment begins in the reduction phase. Participants

set daily cigarette quotas and use various stimulus control

and contingency management techniques to cut down smoking rate

in preparation for abstinence three weeks later (gradual reduction with target date combines the two most effective of

the procedures evaluated by Flaxman 1978). Using a stimulus

hierarchy, cigarettes are deleted situation by situation

(Gutman and Marston 1967); alternatively, quotas can be met

by smoking to cues provided by a timer that is set at increasing intervals (Shapiro, Tursky, Schwartz et al. 1971).

Other techniques include increasing delays before the first

cigarette of the day and dispersing cigarettes, ash trays,

and matches. Quotas are publicly stated, and social reinforcement for success is provided by the therapist as well as

participants. The designated quit date marks the start of the

abstinence phase. Participants prepare for quitting by cutting down to below ten cigarettes per day, providing in many

cases the first success in controlling an important aspect of

smoking (Bernard and Efran 1972).. .. After the participants quit,

the "ultimate aversive consequences of smoking" (Ferster,

Nurnberger, and Levitt 1962) are stressed for the first time

(Best 1975) using educational articles (e.g., Terry and Horn

1969); and, in covert conditioning, participants pair cravings

for cigarettes with the imagined health consequences of sustained smoking (Cautela 1970). Participants practice non-smoking

142
behavior (e.g., refusing a cigarette convincingly); they receive instruction in deep muscle relaxation (Jacobson 1938)

and are encouraged to exercise as alternatives to smoking.

Followup continues the treatment process over an extended

period of time. Group support and encouragement for nonsmoking are provided, and the therapists are available to give

assistance if problems arise or if smoking is resumed (Chapman,

Smith, and Layden 1971).

Reprinted with permission. Pomerleau, 0. F., and Pomerleau,

c. s. Break the Smoking Habit. © Research Press, Champaign,

Illinois, 1977.

Smokers were recruited through announcements of treatment availablity

in the local news media and through physician referrals. Criteria for

admission to the treatment program were: (1) expressed willingness to

attend treatment and followup sessions, (2) capacity to follow instructions, and (3) absence of marked psychpathology evidenced by a

brief interview. The first 100 smokers who received treatment constituted the subjects of a long term outcome study. (An additional 20

smokers were screened and accepted for treatment but did not attend the

first treatment session or pay a fee for service; also, eight smokers

whose previous attempts to quit had been highly disruptive were not accepted for the program and were referred for psychological treatment.)

As shown in Table 1, subjects in the study were similar to a random

national sample (United States Department of Health, Education, and

Welfare 1975) except in sex distribution, educational level, and number

of previous attempts to quit smoking.

TABLE 1

DEMOGRAPHIC COMPARISON OF TREATMENT AND NATIONAL SAMPLES

Treatment Sample (medians) National Sample (medians)

Age

Sex

Years of

education

Age started

smoking

Years smoking

Rate

37.5 years

36% male

39.5 years

55% male

16 years 12 years

17 years

20.5 years

30 cig./day

18 years

21.5 years

19.5 cig./day

Prior attempts

to quit 3 times 1 time

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The underrepresentation of males probably relates to the fact that

treatment was conducted during working hours, and the higher education

level probably reflects the university setting of 'the treatment facilities

(students and university staff comprised 34 percent of the sample). The

findings that the present population smoked more and had made more attempts to quit than the national average probably represent a difference between smokers entering treatment and untreated smokers in the

national sample.

As can be seen in Figure 1, by the last week of treatment 61 percent of

participants were not smoking, but in followup a month later the number

had decreased to 47 percent and by the year anniversary followup, 32 percent. Preliminary data for 56 participants at the second anniversary

followup showed only a slight additional decrement, with 29 percent not

stoking. Figure 2 shows treatment results according to outcome category.

As can be seen, at the end of treatment 28 percent of smokers were smoking at a reduced rate (median of 9 percent of original level) while at

the first anniversary followup 49 percent were smoking at a reduced rate

(median of 60 percent of original level). At the end of treatment no

participants were unimproved; at the one-year followup only 4 percent

were smoking at their original level. At the two year followup (for

56 participants), 34 percent were smoking at a reduced rate (median

of 50 percent of original level) and the percentage of participants

smoking at their original level increased to 21 percent. The previous

analysis accounts for all smokers who entered treatment. The calculations used as an indicator of program effectiveness at the one-year

followup (showing 32 percent abstaining and 49 percent reducing) were

based on the assumption that those participants for whom information

was not available (15 percent of the total) were smoking. If these

subjects are deleted from the analysis, the outcome statistics become

38 percent abstaining and 58 percent reducing.

As a check on the accuracy of self-reported smoking status, data on pulse

rate and nicotine levels in the body (Krumholz, Chevalier, and Ross

1965; Russell and Feyerabend 1975) were obtained from a random sample

of 12 treated smokers and compared with results for a control sample of

five known smokers and five known nonsmokers (employees of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania). Control subjects showed 88 percent concordance between known smoking status and

quantitative saliva analysis (using gas chromatography with a nitrogen

detector); results for treated subjects were identical. The combined

sample concordance was significantly different from chance (Sign Test;

p < .002, one tailed). Since control subjects were presumed to have

no reason to give biased self-reports and since concordance was identical for control and treated subjects, it was concluded that the 12

percent nonconcordance rate was the result of data collection problems

(in particular, insufficient sample size leading to laboratory analysis

errors) rather than inaccurate reporting of smoking status by treated

subjects. Quantitative and qualitative urinanalysis also gave similar

results. Pulse rate measurements, taken before and after therapy for

treated subjects and two months apart for control subjects, were entirely

consistent with self-reported smoking status: Treated subjects exhibited

144
TIME IN MONTHS

Percent of participants not smoking as a function of time for 100 treated smokers (based on status during

prior week). Participants not reporting were assumed to be smoking (11 participants assumed to be smoking at end of treatment and 15 assumed smoking at anniversary followup).
FIGURE 2

percent of smokers abstinent, reduced, unimproved, dropped out, or not reporting at the end of eight

weeks of therapy and at the fist anniversary followup, 100 participants.
a significant reduction in heart rate (Wilcoxin Test; p < .025, one

tailed), while control subjects showed no significant change in heart

rate (in keeping with the lack of change in smoking rate). Median

heart rate for treated smokers went from 80 beats per minute before to

72 beats per minute after treatment, the subjects who reported abstinence at the end of treatment had significantly lower heart rates than

the subjects reporting reduction (Mann Whitney U Test, p < .002, one

tailed).

In preliminary clinical trials, the behavioral treatment has been shown

to be more effective than nonbehavioral smokers randomly assigned to

a local Five-Day Plan (N = 7) had an immediate quit rate of 43 percent

with a sustained abstinence rate of 14 Percent at the six month followup

(results consistent with the findings of Thompson and Wilson 1966).

Furthermore, the abstinence rate seems to be the result of treatment

of smokers assigned to a waiting list control (N=14; median wait,

3 months), only 7 percent quit during the waiting interval while 57

percent reduced (to a median of 72 percent of original rate) and 36

percent were unchanged.

THE PROBLEM OF RECIDIVISM

Relapse following treatment is a major problem for all self-management

disorders. A review of recidivism for heroin, smoking and alcohol

(Hunt,Barnett, and Branch 1971; Hunt and Bespalec 1974) shows remarkably

similar relapse rates for each disorder, with 70 to 75 percent of treatment successes relapsing within 12 months. Attempts to minimize relapse

in the smoking area using behavior modification are illustrative of

the social learning approach to the problem.

While a 50 percent recidivism rate reported for behavioral procedures

for smoking (Lichtenstein and Penner 1977, Pomerleau, Adkins, and

Pertschuk 1978) represents an improvement, much work remains to be

done. Relatively few formal studies have been conducted on the problem to date, even though it clearly represents a major deficiency in

current treatment practice (Pomerleau 1978). One obvious approach is

to provide continued therapist contact following "official" treatment

termination. The benefits of added therapist contact, however, have

been difficult to demonstrate in controlled studies Studies evaluating the contribution of booster sessions (Kopel 1974, Relinger et al.

1977), telephone contacts with therapists (Bernstein 1970; Schmal,

Lichtenstein, and Harris 1972), and contingency contracts in followup

meetings (Lando 1976) have all reported negligible effects on recidivism. According to Bernstein and Glasgow (1979), the only positive

findings reported to date have been a description of success in a case

study (Lewittes and Israel 1975), an indication of mixed results

(St. Pierre and Lawrence 1975), and a note on a recorded phone message

service which indicated improved outcome over one month (Dubren 1977).

147
Another line of attack on the problem has been to try to make therapy

more efficient and effective by individualizing treatment according to

patient characteristics. In preparatory research, Pomerleau, Adkins,

and Pertschuk (1978) examined pretreatment and treatment variables for

100 smokers in an attempt to determine predictors of treatment outcome

and recidivism. "Negative affect" smoking, defined as reporting smoking

a greater proportion of cigarettes in dysphoric states, was the only

variable which significantly predicted relapse at the one year followup,

a finding generally consistent with Tomkins' model (1966). While the

idea of matching therapy to the smoker has been explored with respect

to variables which predict outcome in therapy (e.g., Best 1975; Best and

Steffy 1975), there have been no studies specifically directed toward

preventing relapse using a predictor of recidivism. The closest is a

report by Pechacek (1976) on the effects of providing special relaxation

training: high "state anxiety" (negative affect) smokers were found to

be more successful in therapy when they were provided with a manual

teaching deep muscle relaxation and stress management; unfortunately,

the apparent benefits of the procedure dissipated somewhat during a sixmonth followup. Tailoring treatment to the smoker to reduce recidivism

is a plausible and attractive concept, but it has yet to receive a definitive test.

DISCUSSION

While treatment procedures for smoking and other self-management problems

have improved under the influence of concepts from social learning theory,

and further refinements can be expected, a major breakthrough based on

behavior modification alone seems unlikely. As Lichtenstein (1977) has

observed, to a large extent, behavioral researchers have assumed relationships between environmental events and smoking. Treatment practices

have been based on a general theory rather than on a model which also

takes into account the special characteristics of smoking as a self-management disorder. Part of the promise of social learning theory has been

fulfilled, and several behavioral concepts have generated new standards

of effectiveness in the treatment of smoking, but there has not been a

corresponding improvement in the understanding of smoking as such. More

over, behavioral treatment efforts have been devoted primarily toward

the modification of the act of smoking, an operant behavior. Considerably less formal attention has been given to cognitive and physiological

responses which constitute precursors for smoking (e.g., craving and

withdrawal) and which are under the control of both exteroceptive and

interoceptive stimuli. If treatment extinguishes mainly the overt act

of smoking but not its conditioned cognitive or physiological concomittants, then the exsmoker will continue to be tormented by various situations and feelings which have come to be associated with smoking, and

the probability of relapse will remain high. A similar argument can

be made for the other self-management disorders.

The study of the recidivism process offers many opportunities for behavioral research on self-management. First, the variables which cause

148
relapse may provide important clues to the understanding of the development and maintenance of self-management problem. Recidivism is an all

too common phenomenon and is easily specified, making it far easier and

more convenient to study than initiation. Second, as exemplified by the

statistics on the behavioral treatment of smoking, the principal limitation in current therapy is not the lack of effective procedures for

changing behavior on a short term basis but rather the lack of effective

procedures for sustaining treatment benefits.

The reminder of the present discussion will focus on the role of conditioning factors in relapse, reviewing relevant studies on several selfmanagement disorders in an attempt to generate a common conceptual

analysis. In keeping with the focus of the present paper, evidence from

the several clinical areas will be used to provide a framework for

directing research on smoking.

The conditionability of opiate drug states has been well established

in animals and humans. Stimuli associated with the pleasurable drug

state have been shown to function as secondary positive reinforcers

(Davis and Smith 1976) as well as to restore ongoing instrumental responding in a manner analogous to administration of the primary reinforcing drug (Thompson and Schuster 1964). Conditioned withdrawal has

been demonstrated in numerous studies on physically dependent animals

and humans. For example, a previously neutral stimulus, paired with an

opiate antagonist (which precipitates the withdrawal syndrome), can become an aversive CS—supressing instrumental responding, functioning as

a secondary negative reinforcer, or eliciting both physiological and subjective manifestations of the abstinence syndrome (Goldberg 1976;

O'Brien, Testa, O'Brien et al. 1976; Wikler 1976). The demonstration

of conditionability has important implications for understanding opiate

addiction relapse in humans, for it may begin to explain how environmental stimuli can precipitate conditioned craving--even after an extended abstinence period has ended physical dependence (O'Brien et al.

1976). Wikler (1965) has proposed that relapse in the detoxified addict

should be expected if conditioned craving is not extinguished as part

of therapy.

Though research has not been carried out as extensively or systematically

in the alcoholism area, several studies do suggest the importance of conditioning factors in relapse. For example, Kennedy (1971) demonstrated

that patients who exhibited pupillary dilation in response to the smell

of a favorite beverage, just prior to discharge from a treatment program,

were much more likely to relapse within six months than patients who did

not show this response. In addition, several investigators (e.g.,

Ludwig, Wikler, and Stark 1974) have reported that stimuli associated

with alcoholic drinking (such as a label designating a beverage alcoholic

when it is not) produced physiological responses which resemble withdrawal (conditioned withdrawal) in alcoholics with a history of physical

dependence. Moreover, evidence for a "protracted abstinence syndrome,"

in which measurable subclinical symptoms persist for months to years

after physical dependence is over, has been accumulated by Kissin et al.

(1959), Ludwig et al. (1977), and Wagman and Allen (1975).

149
A further example of how stimulus response variables can affect selfmanagement behavior under different conditions is provided in the area

of obesity. A series of studies by the Wooleys indicated that the salivary response to an external food stimulus varies as a function of the

palatability of the food and beliefs regarding its caloric value and

availability (Wooley and Wooley 1973). In addition, lean subjects were

shown to display sensitive differentiation of salivary responses to food

as a function of the caloric value of ingested preloads (Wooley, Wooley,

and Williams 1977), whereas obese subjects gave uniformly large salivary

responses regardless of preload (Wooley, Wooley, and Woods 1975). Rodin

(1978) hypothesized that insulin release might provide the intervening

physiological mechanism for the demonstrated increased responsivity to

external stimuli in the obese, as insulin is involved in promoting increased ingestion and increased storage of nutrients as fat. In a series

of preliminary experiments, Rodin (1978) demonstrated that the insulin

response to highly palatable food was significantly greater in overweight

subjects (who were especially responsive to external cues for food), compared with normal weight subjects. She concluded that, if the obese

oversecrete insulin (the combined effects of reflexive and conditioned

hyperinsulinemia) in the presence of compelling food cues and eat more

calories in order to balance this hormonal and metabolic output, then

weight reduction program might be well advised to provide more explicit

extinction procedures to disrupt the associative links between salient

food stimuli and eating.

The demonstration of conditioned withdrawal and conditioned craving in

several self-management areas has important implications for smoking

research (Pomerleau 1979). No formal investigations have been conducted

to date, but the plan of action and its potential contribution to the

understanding and treatment of smoking seem clear. As the first order

of business, basic research on the withdrawal process should be undertaken: Smokers can be paid to abstain from cigarettes for varying

periods of time, and physiological responses (e.g., blood nicotine levels,

muscle tension, heart rate, etc.) and cognitive responses (e.g., subjective reports of craving, irritability, etc.) could be monitored during the

withdrawal period. Using the information on unconditioned withdrawal as

a baseline, the conditioned physiological and subjective effects of

various stimuli naturally associated with smoking (e.g., the sight of

an empty cigarette pack or the smell of cigarette smoke) could be determined under different levels of deprivation; moreover, new conditioned

craving responses could be created by pairing previously neutral stimuli

with smoking or nonsmoking in a laboratory situation. Several lines of

applied research also seen feasible using smokers undergoing treatment

as subjects. The physiological and cognitive responses to stimuli associated with smoking could be determined prior to the termination of

therapy and related to outcome in followup. In addition, the idea that

certain stimuli associated with smoking elicit conditioned craving responses which in turn predispose the exsmoker to relapse (Solomon-and

Corbit 1973) could be tested directly in clinical trials: For example.

long term abstinence rates for a standard behavioral treatment could

be compared with augmented therapy in which autonomic (and cognitive)

150
responses were extinguished in a simulated smoking environment or modified directly using biofeedback. The result might be a demonstrably

lower rate of recidivism for smokers exposed to augmented therapy.

CONCLUSION

Behavioral approaches to self-management disorders have been illustrated

by reviewing the treatment of smoking. Conditioning factors in relapse

were emphasized, not only because of the importance of trying to identify

variables which contribute to recidivism, but also because the search

for underlying mechanism my lead to the development of a more comprehensive theory of self-management; in this way, hypotheses and findings

in one clinical area may stimulate research in other areas. Conditioned

craving and withdrawal are not the only phenomena that can be examined

profitably across disorders. For example, research on the role of positive and negative reinforcement (Jarvik 1977; Russell 1978; Schachter,

Silverstein, Kozlowski et al. 1977), on conditioned tolerance (LeMagnen

1975; Siegel 1978), and on the relative contribution of interoceptive

versus exteroceptive stimuli (Herman 1974; Ludwig and Wikler 1974;

Schachter and Rodin 1974), may also contribute to a better understanding

of self-management disorders and, ultimately, to improved therapies.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author wishes to thank his colleagues, David Adkins, Ph.D. and

Michael Pertschuk, M.D., for their assistance with the research described herein.

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AUTHOR

Ovide F. Pomerleau, Ph.D.

Center for Behavioral Medicine

Department of Psychiatry

1140 Gates Building

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

156
Part III Ethanol
Chapter 11

Problem Drinking and Substance

Abuse: Behavioral Perspectives

William R. Miller, Ph.D.

ALCOHOLISM AND PROBLEM DRINKING

Although alcoholism is widely acknowledged to be a serious public

health problem there is relatively little agreement regarding the

necessary and sufficient conditions for diagnosing it (Miller 1976).

Some definitions regard as "alcoholic" any person displaying one or

more of a wide range of alcohol-related problems (e.g., National

Council on Alcoholism 1972; World Health Organization 1952). Others

have favored reserving the term alcoholism" for the more severe end

of the continuum of problem drinking or for individuals displaying

signs of physiological addiction (Miller & Caddy, 1977). The widely

quoted incidence figure of nine million (more recently ten million)

alcoholics in the United States was apparently based upon a double

misinterpretation of data provided by Cahalan's (1970) excellent survey of American drinking practices and problems, and is an estimate

without substantive basis, particularly, in light of current disagreement regarding diagnostic criteria.

We do know from Cahalan's research that approximately one of every

eleven American adults reports significant life problems related to

alcohol use and on this basis may descriptively be termed a "problem

drinker" (Cahalan 1970). This would project an incidence figure

for problem drinking in the United States in excess of fifteen million individuals. This is graphically portrayed in figure 1, which

is based on Cahalan's findings. About one-third of American adults

drink less often than once a year and can functionally be considered

abstainers. (These would include, of course, those who have successfully maintained abstinence following a former period of problem

drinking.) Of the two-thirds who do drink, most do not experience

significant life problems as a result. Nevertheless a surprising

number (nine percent of the total population or about thirteen percent of the drinkers) do report sufficient interference in functioning to warrant the title "problem drinker." Only the broadest of

definitions would label all of these individuals as "alcoholic." By

most diagnostic standards only a subset of these problem drinkers -

the more advanced or severe cases - would be so labeled. Miller and

Caddy (1977) have proposed, albeit somewhat circularly, that the term

158
"alcoholic" be reserved for cases in which abstinence is a necessary

goal of treatment. The shaded portion of the figure is an arbitrarily

chosen proportion to illustrate the distinction between problem drinkers ingeneral and the more limited subset of alcoholism, whatever the

criteria for differentiation.

FIGURE 1

GRAPHIC REPRESENTATION OF THE CONTINUUM MODEL

This is not a trivial distinction. The treatment of alcoholism has

traditionally been devoted to the attainment of total abstinence.

Persons seeking treatment for drinking problems have typically been

enjoined to accept the label "alcoholic" and to discontinue use of

alcohol completely. Yet it is now quite clear that controlled drinking, long regarded as impossible for alcoholics to maintain, is an

attainable outcome for some if not many problem drinkers (Lloyd &

Salzberg 1975; Miller & Caddy 1977; Miller & Munoz 1976; Pattison,

Sobell & Sobell 1977). Failure to distinguish alcoholics from problem drinkers in general may imply either that abstinence is necessary

or that controlled drinking is possible for all problem drinkers, and

neither statement is accurate. It was, in part, a failure to recognize

this distinction that lay at the heart of the heated controversy regarding the Rand Report (Armor, Polich, & Stambul 1976).

An important diagnostic task for us then is to distinguish those for

whom abstinence is necessary from those for whom controlled drinking

is attainable, whether or not we choose to label these two categories

as "alcoholic" and "problem drinker" respectively. Seeking predictors

of successful treatment outcomes, Miller and Joyce (1978) found that

individuals who attained controlled drinking generally (1) had lower

alcohol consumption at intake; (2) had less family history of alcoholism; (3) showed less severity ofproblem drinking; (4) were more

likely to be female; and (5) were lesslikely to identify themselves

as alcoholic. Successful abstainers, on the other hand, (1) showed

more severe drinking problems; (2) were more likely to have labeled

themselves as alcoholic; (3) had more family history of alcoholism;

and (4) were more likely to be males. These findings are largely

consistent with those of other studies seeking predictors of success

in controlled drinking (e.g., Orford 1973; Popham & Schmidt 1976;

Smart 1978; Vogler, Compton & Weissbach 1975; Vogler, Weissbach &

Compton 1977). With the accumulation of such prognostic data it

may eventually be possible to establish empirical criteria for differential treatment assignment.

But why consider controlled drinking at all? There are several compelling reasons. The requirements of a lifelong abstinence commitment and acceptance of the label "alcoholic" are met with substantial

resistance by many problem drinkers. Clients may be more willing to

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seek and accept treatment with a goal of controlled drinking and to do

so earlier in the development of drinking problems, thereby improving

prognosis as well as preventing the development of more serious deterioration characteristic of alcoholism. Those who truly require abstinence may more readily accept this fact when confronted by failure

in a systematic control oriented program, thereby circumventing denial

and again speeding recovery. Also to be considered is the fact that

only a minority of clients maintain successful abstinence following

treatment (Emrick. 1974, 1975). We can hardly afford to ignore treatment approaches that may improve overall success rate and/or reach a

different portion of the population.

On the other hand the importance of abstinence-oriented approaches

must not be underestimated. There are individuals for whom the process of recovery unquestionably must include total abstinence from

alcohol. Miller and Caddy (1977) have suggested contraindications to

a goal of moderation, among them pharmacological addiction to ethanol,

advanced liver disease, and pathological intoxication. There are also

many individuals who will prefer abstinence or find it easier than the

continual decisions and self-control measures necessary for controlled

drinking (Reinert & Bowen 1968). Under certain circumstances (e.g.,

pregnancy, cardiovascular disease) even relatively moderate amounts of

alcohol may be hazardous, and no safe level of drinking has been established. Under conditions like these, individuals should be counseled

toward and offered our most effective approaches to abstinence. Hopefully the years ahead will bring more valid criteria for differentiating those for whom abstinence is necessary from the more general

population of problem drinkers.

ASSESSMENT OF PROBLEM DRINKING

Before turning to a discussion of treatment outcome research it will

be useful to consider methods and problems of assessment in alcohol

abuse. Special difficulties are raised when moderate drinking outcomes are of interest, and these will receive particular attention.

Perhaps the simplest approach to assessment is the attempt to establish and differentiate a dichotomy - in this case, alcoholic versus

nonalcoholic. Despite the large number of instruments and procedures

purported to accomplish this, none provides satisfactory reliability

and cross-situational validity, nor do such dichotomous classifications

prove prognostically predictive. Miller (1976) has suggested focusing

diagnostic assessment instead on two continuous dimensions: the extent

and pattern of alcohol use, and the extent and nature of problems related to alcohol consumption. A continuum of severity may be more

helpful in selecting treatment goal and modality and in predicting and

assessing outcomes.

Measuring Alcohol Consumption

A Standardized Unit. One problem to be addressed in assessing alcohol

consumption is how to combine and compare consumption volumes across a

wide variety of alcohol beverages. Fortunately all beverage alcohol

contains the same basic substance, ethanol, varying only in concentration and in the nature of congeners accompanying the alcohol. This

allows all beverages to be converted into a standard unit with which

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total alcohol consumption can be calculated and compared. One possibility which has been used in several studies is simply to calculate

the total amount of absolute ethanol consumed by multiplying the volume of beverage by the proportion of alcohol it contains. Thus three

ounces of 80 proof (40% alcohol) vodka contain 1.2 ounces of ethanol.

Our clinics have chosen to employ a Standard Ethanol Content (SEC -

plural: SECs) unit equivalent to one half ounce of absolute ethyl

alcohol. This unit has the advantage of being equal to the approximate content of many typical drinks (10 oz of 5% beer; 4 oz of 12%

wine; 2.5 oz of 20% wine; 1 oz of 100 proof spirits) and is more comprehensible to clients, for whom we describe a SEC as "one drink"

(Miller & Muñoz 1976).

Self-Report. Short of continuous direct observationof drinking,

perhaps the best source of data regarding alcohol consumption is the

client's self-report. Certainly this is the most frequently used

measure in outcome studies. If outcome is regarded as dichotomous

(i.e., abstinent or not), the question is a simple one: "Are you now

or have you ever been (during the past X months) drinking?" When the

goal is moderation or when degree of improvement is to be considered,

a more specific quantification of drinking becomes important. Marlatt

(1976) has described a detailed Drinking Profile that assists both

client and interviewer in quantifying alcohol intake. Daily, weekly,

and periodic consumption are estimated on a beverage by-beverage basis.

The combining and reporting of such self-report data present some

formidable problems. If weekly SECs are used, the client who consumes

14 drinks during one day per week and the client who has two drinks

daily appear to be identical (14 SECs per week). Even if daily data

are reported, there is no distinction between four drinks in one hour

and one drink every four hours. Periodic drinkers pose particular

problems in this regard. Cahalan's (1970) quantity/frequency index

can be employed to summarize total consumption over a longer period of

time such as a month or even a year, but a change from severe binges

to steady and moderate drinking is not adequately reflected by the

product of quantity and frequency.

If the interviewer obtains data regarding drinking pattern, including

typical time intervals between drinks, it becomes possible to estimate

peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for a client of given weight and

sex (Matthews & Miller 1979). Variability in pattern and the difficulty of accurately recalling time intervals raise some question

about the validity of such reports, but this method may nevertheless

provide some correction for the shortcomings of reporting consumption

volume only.

The vicissitudes of memory may be at least partially avoided by the

most detailed method of self-report, client self-monitoring. Typically

the person is instructed to record each drink just prior to taking the

first sip, noting the date, time, type, and amount of beverage (Miller

& Muñoz 1976). Data from daily record cards can then be combined

manually or by computer (Matthews & Miller, 1979) to provide more detailed estimates of daily consumption, peak and mean BAC, etc.

Corroborative Data. The accuracy of self-report of problem drinkers

has often been questioned due to presumed denial and memory problems

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in this population. Research. comparing self-reports with corroborating

data, however, have often supported the veraciousness of first hand

drinking reports, particularly when a detailed interviewing or selfmonitoring procedure has been used (Miller, Crawford, & Taylor 1979).

Nevertheless it may be desirable to obtain corroborative data, if

for no other reason than to encourage greater accuracy in self-reports

of clients.

The most common method for corroborative client data is to interview

collateral sources, usually family members, friends, drinking partners,

coworkers or employers. As with self-report, it is easiest to ask whether or not the client has been drinking, and quantitative estimates

are more difficult. We have found that very few collaterals volunteer

such estimates or provide them when asked merely, “Do you know how much

X drinks?” Through more structured interviewing, however, we have been

able to obtain quantitative data from approximately 70% of collaterals.

Most valuable are reports of drinking that is actually observed by the

collateral, although estimates based on other data (e.g., number of.

empty bottles seen) may be helpful. After interviewing a number of

collaterals we construct a composite collateral report by combining

data for each time block (morning, afternoon, evening) of each day in

a typical week, giving preference to data from collaterals who observe

drinking and resolving discrepancies conservatively by favoring the

higher estimate when two observations conflict. Correlation between

the composite collateral profiles and clients’ self-reported data have

been of the order of .70 in our research.

Miller, Hersen, Eisler, and Watts (1974) introduced another method for

corroborating client data. A staff member visited the client at home

or elsewhere in the natural environment at random intervals to obtain

a breath sample that was later analyzed for BAC. We are presently exploring the feasibility of this somewhat intrusive procedure in larger

scale outcome research.

Alcohol consumption may be corroborated indirectly via a number of medical procedures. Reyes, Miller, Taylor and Spalding (1978) have

found marked improvement on liver function tests (SGOT and GGTP) among

problem drinkers following a treatment program oriented to reduction in

alcohol consumption. The latter test (GGTP) appears to be particularly

sensitive to binge drinking, although further research regarding consumption/enzyme relationships is needed. Shaw, Lue and Lieber (1978)

have advocated measurement of the ratio between plasma alpha-amino-Nbutyric acid and leucine for detecting recent chronic alcohol intake.

Like more gross examination procedures such as liver palpation, these

tests assess the results of alcohol consumption and are therefore useful in screening and as corroborating data. It should be recognized,

however, that such tests merely reflect alcohol use and provide neither

definitive diagnosis for alcoholism nor unique solutions to the diagnostic conundrums of this area.

Alcohol-Belated Problems

The extent of life problems related to drinking is a critical focus for

assessment both at intake and at followup. A structured interview or

questionnaire may provide quantitative indices of problem severity useful in prognosis and in outcome evaluation. Selzer’s (1971) Michigan

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Alcoholism Screening Test is a problem checklist of this kind. Although Selzer proposed it for the purpose of making a dichotomous

classification of alcoholic/nonalcoholic, it has proved helpful as a

continuous index of severity of problem drinking. Miller and Joyce

(1978) found this scale to be prognostic of treatment outcome, with

highest scorers at intake (most severe problems) becoming abstainers,

moderate scorers becoming controlled drinkers, and lowest scorers experiencing less successful outcomes.

Qualitative if not quantitative data regarding life problems can also

be obtained by interviewing collaterals as well as clients themselves.

We have found Kiresuk’s (1972) method of Goal Attainment Scaling to be

helpful in quantifying problem areas at intake, thereby facilitating

rating of improvement at follow-up periods. A composite collateral

profile can be constructed from interviews, as described above for

alcohol consumption.

Several investigators (e.g., Miller 1978a; Sobell, Sobell & Samuels,

1974) have consulted public records to obtain corroborative data regarding client problem areas. Instances of alcohol-related arrests,

driving offenses, and hospitalizations may be documented, assisting

in the confirmation or disconfirmation of abstinence. Information

about employment and social functioning may also be obtained. Sobell

et al. (1974) reported good agreement between client self-report and

corroborative data from public records.

Improvement Ratings

Measures of central tendency can be misleading. A steady decline in

mean drinking of a group may represent, at the extremes! an analogous

decline in all members or a successive adoption of abstinence by an

increasing number of individuals. Consequently it is important to

provide data regarding the outcomes of individuals as well as the usual

nomothetic analyses.

This process is greatly simplified if one is interested only in

abstinence as a successful outcome. The box score in this case consists of the number of abstinent and nonabstinent individuals in each

treatment condition at each assessment point. Even abstinence-oriented

programs, however, have tended to report some nonabstinent cases as

“improved,” often without explaining the basis for this classification.

When the outcome dichotomy is abandoned, the picture becomes considerably more complicated.

Consider first the rating of individuals on the basis of alcohol consumption alone. What is a success? must the individual drop below

some absolute ceiling of alcohol consumption arbitrarily defined as

“moderate” or “controlled” drinking? Such a criterion poses many

problems. Suppose we choose 20 drinks (SECs) per week, the approximate

mean drinking level for American drinkers (Miller & Muñoz 1976), as a maximum for “controlled drinking.” A client who drops from 21 to 20 drinks

is then a success, whereas a client who plunges from 180 to 21 drinks is a

failure. If on the other hand we require a 50 percent reduction in consumption in order to be “successful,” then a client dropping from 180 to

90 drinks per week is a success, whereas the client going from 18 to 12

drinks per week is a failure. Increasing the number of classification

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categories improves flexibility of the system but does not obviate this

problem. In addition, as noted earlier, consumption data fail to reflect pattern of drinking. The client drinking 3-4 drinks per day and

spacing them 3 hours apart is regarded an equal success with the client

who drinks once per week but downs a fifth of Scotch in an hour. A

comprehensive improvement rating system based on alcohol use must consider at least (1) absolute level of drinking, (2) amount of reduction

in consumption, and (3) patterning of drinking. One attempt to establish such a system is described by Miller (1978 a). If in addition to

alcohol consumption overall life functioning or improvement in alcohol

related problems is to incorporated, the possibilities and perplexities multiply. Multidimensional outcome rating systems have been employed by Sobell and Sobell (1973, 1976) and by Vogler et al. (1975,

1977).

CONTROLLED DRINKING THERAPIES

Prior to 1970 the problem drinker who did not regard herself or himself

as an alcoholic and who did not wish to become abstinent had almost nowhere to turn. It was in that year that Lovibond and Caddy (1970) published the first report of controlled research with a treatment technique designed to moderate alcohol use. Their success rate of more

than 75 percent was encouraging. There followed a series of reports

with similar success rates from a variety of intervention methods

Caddy E Lovibond 1976; Gottheil et al. 1972; Hedberg & Campbell 1974;

Miller 1977; 1978b; Pomerleau et al. 1978; Sobell & Sobell 1973, 1976;

Vogler, Weissbach & Compton 1977; Vogler et al. 1977). The details

of these studies are beyond the scope of this chapter and have

been reviewed elsewhere (Hamburg 1975; Lloyd & Salzburg 1975; Marlatt & Nathan 1978; P. M. Miller 1977; W. A. Miller 1976; Pattison,

Sobell & Sobell 1977; Sobell & Sobell 1978). Suffice it to say that

with rare exceptions (e.g., Ewing & Rouse 1973) a consistently high

percentage - usually over 60 percent - of clients seeking and treated

with a goal of controlled drinking have been found to attain and to

maintain nonproblematic moderation. These findings are in striking

contrast to the percentage of clients who become controlled drinkers

following abstinence-oriented treatment, usually about five percent

(Emrick 1974).

Our own research over the past five years has explored the relative

effectiveness of alternative outpatient treatment approaches to controlled drinking for problem drinkers. These interventions have ranged

from unitary approaches focusing only on drinking behavior to broad

spectrum programs targeting presumed underlying and related problem

behaviors. The amount of therapist time required has varied from

minimal contact in self-help programs to extensive modalities with

weekly sessions of three hours or more. From this series of studies

has emerged a treatment approach we have called “behavioral self-control training” because most of its components have derived directly

from the more general self-control literature (Thoresen & Mahoney

1974). It is a flexible treatment program, amenable to presentation in

a variety of modalities, including bibliotherapy, individual and group

therapy. The basic strategies included in this program will be described first, before we turn our attention to the research from which

it grew.

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Behavioral Self-Control Training

The behavioral self-control training program at present progresses

through six phases. These will be outlined briefly here, and are

described in greater detail elsewhere (Miller & Muñoz 1976).

1. Setting Limits. The first step in this program involves the

client in setting limits for his or her own drinking. Three educational elements are included in this phase: (1) how to standardize alcohol

consumption into a “one drink” (SEC) unit, as described above; (2)

normative information about American drinking practices; and (3) information regarding blood alcohol concentration. As part of the last of

these educational components the client is provided with an individualized table for estimating blood alcohol level from drinking data

(Matthews & Miller 1979) and a list of the expected effects of various blood alcohol concentrations. The client then chooses two goal

limits. The first of these, the regular limit, represents the client’s

goal for maximum number of drinks on an average day. This goal appears

to be heavily influenced by information we provide regarding normative

drinking practices. The second goal, the absolute limit, represents a

maximum which the client chooses not to exceed on any drinking occasion.

This latter goal is chosen on the basis of a blood alcohol ceiling that

the client wishes to observe, which is then translated into alcohol

consumption limits. Roth goals represent long term objectives, and we

typically set weekly goals that successively approximate the desired

limits. It has been our experience that clients more readily control

peak blood alcohol within early weeks of the program and so obtain

their absolute limit goal first. Reduction in number of drinks occurs

more gradually.

2. Self-Monitoring. A procedure for self-monitoring is explained to

the client, who is then provided with a supply of daily data cards.

Clients record the date, time, type, and amount of each drink as well

as relevant antecedent and consequence information. Instructions are

to record each drink just before taking the first sip. Practice in

recording is provided, as is role playing of possible situations that

could interfere with recording. We have found that self-monitoring

alone often produces a substantial decrease in alcohol consumption,

although without further measures it seems likely that this reduction

would be transitory. A sample self-monitoring card is shown below.

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3. Rate Control. Next the client is instructed in procedures for

slowing down consumption rate, based upon the work of the Sobells

(1973). Clients are instructed to select beverages with lower alcohol

concentration, to take smaller sips and to space sips more widely, to

observe a minimum time limit before starting another drink, to intersperse nonalcohol beverages, and so on. Role playing on how to refuse

unwanted drinks is also included.

4. Self-Reinforcement. Clients are taught to recognize small signs

of progress on self-monitoring cards and to reinforce themselves accordingly. Conventional ‘self-reinforcement contracts are encouraged,

as are positive self-statements and covert self-instructions. Selfpunishment is used cautiously within contracts, usually employing constructive but aversive events as a consequence of nonfulfillment.

5. Functional Analysis. When several weeks of daily record cards have

been completed the process of functional analysis begins. Data cards

are examined for consistent antecedents or consequences of heavy drinking. We uniformly find that overdrinking is not a random behavior but

corresponds with various environmental events (e.g., certain companions

or locations, specific times of day or days of the week, certain concomitant activities) or reported feelings (e.g., depression, anger!

anxiety, tension, hunger, fatigue). This analysis provides direction

for the final phase of the program.

6. Alternatives to Drinking. When high risk situations have been

identified a variety of strategies may be implemented. Stimulus control procedures may be used to alter environmental conditions associated with high probabilities of overdrinking. Frequent antecedents of

overdrinking often represent situations in which alcohol is being used

as a coping strategy, suggesting the utility of teaching alternative

coping skills. This phase of the program may include training in

skills for coping with problems such as anxiety, depression, insomnia,

boredom, and interpersonal conflicts. Both problem focus and intervention methods during this phase are highly individualized and

prescriptive (Dimond, Havens & Jones, 1978; Goldstein & Stein, 1976).

Treatment Outcomes Research

Each of the five studies described below included one or more forms

of behavioral self-control training, comparing the relative effectiveness of alternative approaches. In each study we were treating selfreferred problem drinkers whose goal was moderation. The average age

of our clients was about 40. They had been drinking on the average

for about 25 years and had been problem drinkers (by their own definition) for about 9 years. Almost all scored within the “alcoholic”

range on the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (mean score around 18),

evidencing serious life problems related to drinking. Their mean alcohol consumption at intake was equivalent to more) than two fifths of

100 proof spirits per week. At the outset of this series of studies

behavioral self-control training was only one alternative approach.

As support for this approach accumulated, we began exploring the necessary and sufficient components as well as the effectiveness of some

alternative formats for behavioral self-control training.

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The first study in this series (Miller 1978a) was begun in 1974 and

evaluated the relative effectiveness of three treatment modalities:

(1) electrical aversion therapy; (2) behavioral self-control training;

and (3) an extensive individual treatment program similar to that

described by Vogler, Compton & Weissbach (1975) and modeled after

techniques introduced by Sobell and Sobell (1973) and by Lovibond and

Caddy (1970). All three modalities involved individual therapy sessions, although the last of these required three hours per week, whereas

the former two required only 30- to 50-minute sessions weekly. All

three modalities proved to be about equally effective at one year followup. From this it seemed reasonable to conclude that behavioral selfcontrol training, which required less therapist contact and no special

equipment, is the most cost effective of these approaches. It was a

somewhat serendipitous finding, however, that was to suggest our second

study. We prepared a brief self-help manual that included the basic

instructions for behavioral self-control and also included consideration

of motivations for drinking, with suggested alternative coping strategies, such as progressive deep muscle relaxation and assertion training.

We had originally intended to distribute this to all treated clients at

termination, but decided instead to randomly select half of our cases

to receive the manual. The other half were not given the manual until

the three-month followup interview. The result was that clients who

received and read the manual showed continued gains and were significantly more improved at followup than were those who did not receive

the manual. At one year followup, after all clients had been given the

manual, this difference disappeared.

So here was an interesting and unplanned finding- that a self-help

manual used as a supplement to therapy significantly improved maintenance of gains. We particularly noted that the manual seemed most

beneficial to clients in the aversive counterconditioning group, who

had not received self-control training and for whom it thus contained

the most new information.

This raised a new question: how effective could such a manual be by

itself, without the assistance of a therapist? (Actually our original

question was: how muchbetter will clients do with the help of a

therapist than with only a manual?) In our second study (Miller,

Gribskov & Mortell 1978) we randomly assigned 31 clients-to a Manual

Only group who were interviewed and then provided with a manual

mailers for self-monitoring cards, or to a Manual Plus Therapist group,

who received ten individual therapy sessions focusing on the same selfcontrol methods covered by the manual. The results (reported briefly

by Miller 1977) surprised us. Both groups were quite successful, with

no significant differences on outcome variables. The differences that

did obtain were in favor of the manual only group, which was maintaining an 84 percent improved rate at three-month followup compared to a

79 percent rate in the therapist-administered group. Following this

study, an expanded version of our original self-help manual was published by Prentice-Hall under the title How to Control Your Drinking

(Miller & Muñoz 1976).

We next explored the feasibility of providing this kind of self-control

training within a group setting, offering classes in moderation through

a California community center (Miller, Pechacek & Hamburg 1978). In

the course of a year we offered four such classes, this time using the

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expanded manual as a textbook. Of the 27 problem drinkers completing

all or most of this class, 19 (70 percent) were classified as considerably or moderately improved, 6 were slightly or not improved, and 2

were lost to followup. The results were still encouraging by comparison with Emrick’s (1975) normative statistics on treatment outcome,

but the success rate was notably lower than that attained by manual

only clients in our second study. Data from this third study have been

briefly reported by Miller (1977).

Cur two most recent studies have been conducted at the University of

New Mexico (Miller & Taylor 1978a, 1978b). The first of these was

designed as a partial replication of the preceding three studies. A

total of 41 clients were randomly assigned to one of four treatment

conditions: (1) Manual Only (2) Behavioral Self-Control Training

with individual therapist, 3) Behavioral ‘Self-Control Training Plus

Relaxation Training with therapist, and (4)

relaxation training and replicating the self-control classes of our

Group Therapy classes of our

third study. At three-month followup the overall success rates (i.e.,

abstinent + considerably improved + moderately improved, as described

by Miller 1978) were, respectively, 83, 80, 75, and 100 percent.

Preliminary data from one-year followup (with 92 percent of cases

interviewed) provided the following success rates, again in order of

groups presented above: 75, 40, 75, and 89 percent. These findings

replicate the cost effective superiority of the manual only condition

over all alternatives except, perhaps, group therapy.

Cur fifth and most recent study (Miller & Taylor, 1978b) was designed

to explore the relative contribution of a broad spectrum component when

added to the basic program in self-control.

signed to one of four treatment modalities: (1) Manuals Only, wherein

Clients were randomly asclients received a copy of Miller & Muñoz (1976) and their choice of

three additional self-help manuals from a selection of behaviorally

oriented books chosen to deal with hypothesized motivations for drinking (2) Behavioral Self-Control Training, involving six sessions with

assertion training; and (3) Behavioral Self-Control Training Plus

Designated Modules in relaxation training, communication skills, and

assertion training; and (4) Behavioral Self-Control Training Plus

Individualized Modules, chosen by the client from 10 alternative modules

focusing upon motivations for drinking (e.g., insomnia, depression,

anxiety). Each module was four weeks in length, was therapist-directed,

and was based upon behavioral intervention strategies. The latter two

groups thus received 18 weeks of individual therapy, as compared to

6 weeks for group 2 and no therapy for clients in the manuals only

condition. Data from termination yielded the following rates of successful outcome: 60, 70, 89, and 89 percent. For the first time in

our five years of research the “expected” pattern of findings was obtained, with successful outcome being associated with increasing

amounts of therapeutic contact. It should be noted that these are

preliminary findings and that followup interviews will yield more definitive data. Nevertheless this is the lowest percentage of success

that we have observed for a bibliotherapy group. The greater success

of prior bibliotherapy groups receiving only the alcohol manual suggests that the use of additional self-help books in this case not only

failed to augment effectiveness but may have diminished it.

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Across the five studies our overall success rates, even for minimally

treated clients? have been quite consistent with the 60 to 70 percent

rates reported in other studies, of controlled drinking therapies. In

another series of studies, Vogler and his colleagues (1975, 1977) have

found similar success rates with no significant differences in effectiveness among treatment modalities that ranged from a minimal educational program to anextensive and expensive individual treatment

package.

What can be concluded from research at the present time? The following

assertions seem justified in light of current data:

1. Moderate drinking outcomes can and do occur among problem drinkers,

many of whom could have been classified as “alcoholic” by current

diagnostic practices. For others, particularly those with more severe

or advanced problems, abstinence represents the only safe and realistic

goal for recovery.

2. Moderate drinking outcomes are more likely when the goal of treatment has been moderation than when treatment was oriented toward total

abstinence.

3. A wide variety of behavioral/educational strategies can result in

successful controlled drinking, with an average effectiveness rate be- .

tween 60 and 70 percent.

4. Minimal therapist contact programs appear to be as effective as

extensive therapist-administered programs for a majority of problem

drinking clients seeking moderation.

5. Multimodal (“broad spectrum”) programs for problem drinkers result

in slightly but not significantly greater overall success rates than

do those focusing only on the moderation of drinking.

Maintenance

Maintenance of treatment gains is a critical issue in all clinical

research, and is of particular importance for problem areas known to

be characterized by high recidivism. There is disagreement about the

necessary length for adequate followup in treating problem drinkers,

but it is clear that assessment beyond termination is essential.

A number of outcome studies of controlled drinking therapies have included followup data at one year or longer following termination

(Caddy & Lovibond 1976; Miller, 1978; Miller & Taylor 19789; Sobell

& Sobell 1976; Vogler et al. 1975, 1977a). Two findings have been

rather consistent. The first of these is that success rates show some

attrition over the year following treatment but generally hold up quite

well through the period of followup. The second is that a client’s

status at three month followup is a relatively good predictor of longer

term success (c.f., Hunt, Barnett & Branch 1971; Rohan 1970). In two

of the studies described above (Miller 1978a, Miller & Taylor 1978a)

which have included both three and twelve-month followups, 89 percent

of cases judged to be successful at three months retained this status

at one year following termination.

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300-345 0 - 79 - 12
Also of interest are strategies that may improve the probability of

maintenance or continued gains following treatment. Different strategies may be required for successful maintenance than for effective

treatment (Christensen, Miller & Muñoz 1978; Kingsley & Wilson 1977).

Continued periodic contact has been found to improve maintenance of

abstinence (e.g., Stojiljkovic 1969; Voegtlin et al. 1941) and is

emphasized as an essential element of Alcoholics Anonymous (1960).

Analysis of antecedents of relapse may provide clues toward prevention (Marlatt & Gordon 1978). Miller (1978a) found a selfhelp manual to promote continued improvement after treatment. Research

designed to evaluate and compare alternative maintenance strategies is

relatively inexpensive and is more readily conducted within standard

treatment settings than is controlled treatment outcome research

(Miller 1979). Yet this type of research design has been largely

unused within program evaluation. Studies of this kind may be particularly fruitful in an area such as problem drinking, where most treatment interventions are reputed to be about equally (in)effective.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE: SOME AREAS OF COMMONALITY

Our discussion so far has focused primarily upon some new developments

in alcohol treatment and assessment, particularly those relevant to the

outcome goal of moderate drinking. What implications might these new

developments have for other areas of substance abuse: overeating,

smoking, and drug abuse? In what ways might this view of problem

drinking share common ground with (and differ from) other addictive

behaviors?

Issues of Assessment

The issue of dichotomous versus continuous outcome measures is relevant

to each area of substance abuse. Within smoking and drug abuse research, outcome has been viewed dichotomously with few exceptions.

Overeating and obesity, on the other hand, have of necessity been

viewed as continuous. Quantification of consumption data poses problems of varying complexity. For each area the concentration or dose

of consumed substance is of concern, be it alcohol proof, calories,

nicotine content, or purity of drug.

In each area of substance abuse the focus of concern is not so much

with the behavior itself as with the untoward consequences of its abuse.

Each poses major health hazards to the over-user and, to varying extents,

creates social problems as well. Illegality is an issue in drug abuse,

as it is under certain age limits for smokers and drinkers. Comprehensive assessment will focus not only upon the consumatory behavior but

also on its consequences for the individual and for society.

Verification of self-report, which is an important issue in alcohol

research, presents even more serious problems when the target behavior

is drug use, a seldom observed phenomenon. Smoking may similarly be

difficult to verify, depending upon the individual’s pattern of public

or private use. In these cases corroborative data may be obtained from

physiological measures such as urine, breath, or blood tests. A weighin provides a convenient corroboration for self-report of eating

behavior.

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Each of these four addictive behaviors has also been notoriously difficult to treat, with high attrition and relapse rates. Dropouts and

clients lost to followup pose problems for analysis and interpretation

of data. Clients failing in the program under study may soon enroll

in a different intervention program, complicating interpretation of

improvement.

Issues of Etiology

Addictive behaviors seem uniformly to elude unitary models of etiology.

Each area struggles with multiple determinants of the target behavior,

constructing complex multimodal theories and interventions.

One common issue in etiology is the concept of addiction itself. All

of the four substance abuse behaviors have some addictive properties,

ranging from habitual use and psychological dependence to tissue tolerance and well-defined withdrawal syndromes. The importance of addiction as an explanatory factor is controversial in each area. The

above discussion has argued that the concept of physiological addiction

is important in understanding alcoholism, but has been overextended in

attempting to explain the behavior of all problem drinkers. Addiction

has been an almost unquestioned explanation for drug use, yet many drugs

of abuse are not pharmacologically addicting and the withdrawal syndrome

associated with heroin is far less severe than that for alcohol. Perhaps here, too, the importance of addiction has been overstated. On the

other hand, recent evidence suggests that we may have underestimated the

importance of nicotine addiction in maintaining smoking behavior

(Schachter 1978). It is possible that certain foods may also have

addictive properties in the sense that predictable physiological changes

may occur upon their withdrawal. The puzzle for all of these substances

is to sort out the motivational properties attributable to physiological

addiction from those related to psychosocial factors.

An interesting line of research relevant to this endeavor has been pursued by Marlatt and his colleagues (1973; Marlatt 1978). In the typical study half of all subjects receive alcohol and half do not.

Within each of these groups half believe that they are drinking alcohol

and half do not. Studies using this paradigm have suggested that many

effects previously attributable to pharmacological actions of alcohol

(e.g., craving, sexual arousal, aggression) are more influenced by

cognitive than by chemical factors. This paradigm could readily be

extended to research with smoking and drug use, and even to the use of

specific foods (e.g., artificial sweetener versus sugar).

Issues of Treatment

Perhaps the most controversial issue touched upon here is that of total

abstinence versus moderation. Whereas controlled drinking therapies

have been under study for almost ten years, only recently has the possibility of controlled smoking been explored seriously (see chapter by

Frederiksen in this book). If “safer” cigarettes are truly safer (c.f.,

Schachter. 1978) and if minimally dangerous levels of smoking can be

established, controlled smoking may be a viable goal. Certainly the

analogies of decreasing concentration of drug, slowing consumption rate,

and setting limits are interesting. The popular lore is that moderate

smoking is impossible and that abstinence is the only alternative to

171
abuse once heavy smoking has been established, but a similar impression

of problem drinking dominated professional opinion ten years ago. With

regard to illicit drugs, the issue of moderation versus abstinence takes

on legal implications. To condone moderation with an illicit drug is

to support criminal activity. A similar dilemma faces the alcohol professional who recognizes the importance of “responsible drinking” but

works with minors. To assist a minor in attaining moderate alcohol use

is to condone illegal behavior - with potential repercussions from

parents, supervisors, and the courts. The only area of substance abuse

wherein abstinence is not an issue is, of course, overeating. The necessity of moderation as the goal in this area has contributed treatment techniques that have been most useful when applied to problem

drinking.

Many standard behavioral self-control strategies apply equally well to

all addictive behaviors, although sometimes requiring modification to

fit the particular behavior and individual. An interesting example is

stimulus control. Stuart (1967; Stuart & Davis 1972) generally instructs overeaters to restrict the stimulus situations in which they

eat. Narrowing the band of eating situations seems to aid in the control of food intake. The same strategy might be applied to smokers

seeking moderation. Many problem drinkers and drug abusers, however,

normally consume their drug within one or two rather circumscribed

settings. Many of our clients have been exclusive “home alone” drinkers, or have had a favorite bar where the bulk of their drinking was

done. For these individuals it has been important to broaden the range

of social drinking situations while decreasing or avoiding drinking in

the original setting. We have focused functional analysis on identifying situations in-which drinking tends to be controlled as well as

those in which overdrinking occurs (Miller & Muñoz 1976). When the

stimulus elements associated with control are established! drinking

behavior is moved toward those situations and away from higher risk

settings. The stimulus control strategy here, then, is not one of

restricting or narrowing the band so much as choosing situations that

alter the probability of overdrinking. If abstinence is the goal, a

similar strategy may be used to identify and control situations associated with urges to begin drinking.

One final issue relevant to each area is that of optimal level of

intervention. For each of the four addictive behaviors, conventional

treatment programs have tended to fall into one of several “standard

therapy” ruts. For alcoholics, standard treatment consists of detoxification (whether or not it is needed), prescription of disulfiram,

and a regimen of educational lectures on the effects and disease aspects of alcohol abuse. Standard treatment for heroin addicts features

confrontation and methadone maintenance. Treatment packages for smokers and overeaters are offered by private and franchised clinics in

most cities. In none of these cases is selection of treatment based

upon the demonstrated superiority of the “standard” approach over

available alternatives, nor are significant efforts typically made

to individualize the treatment package for different clients. There

is much need for research exploring the necessary and sufficient conditions for effecting and maintaining changes in addictive behaviors.

It is becoming increasingly, clear that bigger treatments are not necessarily better treatments. The feasibility and effectiveness of selfhelp interventions for substance abusers should be systematically

172
evaluated. Research described above suggests that suchmethods may

be effective for many problem drinkers (c.f., Miller 1978b). The

effectiveness of self-help procedures for smokers, drug abusers, and

the obese is less clear, and requires further attention. The efficacy

of self-help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Synanon, Weightwatchers and Drinkwatchers has been the subject of too few studies,

limited perhaps by the anonymity often inherent in these groups. It

would seem prudent to explore the limits of these more minimal interventions rather than to continue to construct expensive standardized

multimodal “shotgun” treatment packages to be administered to all

comers. Shotguns are characterized both by expensive ammunition and

by a tendency toward overkill. It is time to seriously examine cost

effectiveness and differential diagnosis and to make treatment decisions accordingly.

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August, 1952.

AUTHOR

William R. Miller, Ph.D.

Department of Psychology

University of New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131

177
Chapter 12

Studies in Blood Alcohol Level

Discrimination:

Etiologic Cues to Alcoholism

Peter E. Nathan, Ph.D., and Thomas R. Lipscomb, Ph.D.

A number of studies exploring the utility of controlled drinking

treatment approaches have incorporated blood alcohol level (BAL)

discrimination training into their program. In general, the authors

of these studies (e.g., Caddy and Lovibond 1976; lovibond and Caddy

1970; Miller 1978; Vogler, Compton, and Weissbach 1975; Vogler,

Weissbach, Compton, and Martin 1977) have maintained that training

in BAL discrimination allows the alcoholic to monitor his level of

intoxication and that this ability can be incorporated within a

treatment program designed to aid the alcoholic to maintain more

moderate BALs.

The first study of BAL, discrimination training was reported by

Lovibond and Caddy (1970). The goal of that study was to establish

accurate BAL discrimination abilities in alcoholic subjects and

thence to induce a discriminated conditioned aversion to high BALs

(defined as those over 65 mg/%). Of 44 alcoholic subjects accepted

into the treatment program, 31 were assigned to an experimental

group and 13 to a control group.

Experimental subjects were trained in BAL discrimination in the first

phase of treatment. At the beginning of the single 90-to 12O-minute

training session, subjects were given a scale describing the typical

behavioral effects of different BALs. Next, they ingested an alcohol

end fruit juice mixture, then were asked to examine their subjective

experiences as a basis for estimating BAL. Every 15-20 minutes of

the session, subjects received Breathalyzer tests, estimated their

BAL, then were given immediate feedback on actual BAL.

Conditioning procedures were implemented during the second, treatment,

phase of the study. Subjects consumed their preferred alcoholic

beverage at an experimenter-determined rate designed to raise BALs

to approximately 65 mg/% by the end of 90 minutes. As before,

subjects made BAL estimates,

15-20 minutes.

then received accurate feedback every

However, when BALs rose above 65 mg/%, as they were

programed to do, painful (4-7 mA) electric shocks were delivered to

subjects' faces on a partial reinforcement schedule. Subjects were

required to continue drinking throughout the entire session. Treatment lasted 6-12 sessions; subjects received between 30 and 70 shocks

in all. Control subjects received the same BAL discrimination training but, throughout the aversive conditioning phase of the study

(which lasted only three sessions), shocks were administered on a

randombasis.

178
Although Lovibond and Caddy did not report data on acquisition rates

of BAL discriminations, they did report that "after a single training-session, errors in excess of ± .01% (10 mg/%) rarely occur

(p. 440)." Nonetheless, because pretraining data on BAL estimation

accuracy were not reported and the discrimination accuracy of a

control group was not assessed, it cannot be concluded unequivocally that subjects' posttraining accuracy was due to training per

se. Further, because BAL estimates by subjects were never made in

the absence of BAL feedback, it is not possible to be certain that

posttraining estimation accuracy was maintained when feedback was

removed.

In a followup comparison of these experimental and control subjects,

a greater pre-post reduction in alcohol intake was reported for the

former group than for the latter. Lovibond and Caddy attributed

the greater improvement in experimental subjects' drinking patterns

to a change in their motivation to drink to high BALs, produced

as a result of the pairings of shock with ostensibly readily discriminated BALS.

Along with a too ready acceptance of the efficacy of electrical

aversion conditioning with alcoholics (cf., Nathan and Briddell

1977; Wilson, Leaf and Nathan 1975), the validity of conclusions

drawn by Lovibond and Caddy on the basis of their outcome data can

be questioned. First, outcome was assessed on the basis of selfreport data whose validity and reliability were not measured.

Second, by virtue of the differential attrition rates of the two

groups (control subjects: 61 percent; experimental subjects: 10

percent), it appears that the control procedure was probably not a

very convincing one. Hence, posttreatment group differences might

well have been due to such nonspecific factors as differential

expectancies for improvement and other demand characteristics than

to the specific procedures employed. Finally, because the authors

never established that BAL discrimination training via internal cues

had both taken place and been maintained over time it is difficult

to accept this aspect of their intervention as responsible for the

short term improvement in drinking pattern they reported.

In an effort both to replicate and to extend Lovibond and Caddy's

exploration of the blood alcohol level discrimination training paradigm, Silverstein, Nathan and Taylor (1974) designed a study initially

including four male "gamna" alcoholics who participated as inpatients

in both phases of a two part, 36-day study. The goal of the first

phase of the study (which lasted 10 days) was to examine some of the

factors involved in training alcoholics to estimate BAL accurately.

Drinking was programmed in five 2-day cycles such that BAL rose

on the first day of a cycle to 150 mg/%, then fell overnight and

over the next day to zero. During the first (baseline) 2-day

cycle, subjects estimated BAL approximately ten times per day without

receiving feedback on accuracy. During the following three 2-day

179
cycles, subjects were continuously alerted to the emotional

and physical correlates of changing levels of blood alcohol while

receiving feedback 1) after each BAL estimate; 2) after 50 Percent

of their estimates; and 3) after 50 percent of their estimates with

Positive reinforcement (tokens exchangeable for money t the end of

the study) delivered contingent on accurate BAL estimation. During

the final 2-day cycle of this phase of the study, which represented

a return to baseline conditions, subjects were again required to

make their BAL estimate in the absence of training, feedback, or

contingent reinforcement.

During the second phase of the study (which lasted 26 days), three

of the four subjects who had participated in the study's first phase

were trained to drink to, then maintain, a prescribed BAL (80 mg/%).

Three converging behavioral shaping procedures were utilized for

this purpose: 1) Responsibility for control over drinking was

gradually shifted from the experimenter to the subject; 2) The

range of positively reinforced BALs was successively narrowed closer

and closer to the target BAL of 80 mg/%; 3) All reinforcement and

feedback were gradually faded out over the nearly four weeks of

this phase of the study.

Data from the first phase of the study shaved that the most power—

ful factor influencing BAL estimation accuracy was, simply, the

presence or absence of accurate feedback on blood alcohol level.

Whether this feedback was continuous or intermittent, or accompanied

or unaccompanied by reinforcement for accuracy, was unimportant;

estimation error scores during the three training cycles were uniformly lower than those during the initial pretraining or concluding

posttraining baseline periods of this phase of the study. During

the second, control training phase of the study, subjects were able

effectively to control their drinking -to maintain BAL within the

prescribed range -but only so long as feedback on BAL was provided.

Degree of control decreased significantly when feedback was removed

(during the postexperimental baseline assessment period).

These data by Silverstein and his colleagues called into question

Lovibond and Caddy's explanation of their successful treatment outcomes, that subjects maintained the ability to discriminate BAL

from internal cues through the followup period. Though the Silverstein study affirmed that alcoholics can learn to discriminate BAL

with considerable accuracy and, following acquisition of that skill,

confine their drinking behavior to narrowly defined limits, both

abilities were significantly attenuated once external feedback of

accurate BAL was removed.

Specifically relevant to the results of the studies by Lovibond

and Caddy and Silverstein, Nathan, and Taylor are data from a clinical report by Paredes, Jones and Gregory (1974), who trained a single

alcoholic subject to discriminate BAL. Although he did, in fact,

learn to monitor rising and falling BALs, whether he did so on the

basis of training in the use of subjective experience for this purpose

180
or from the accurate feedback on BAL he was continuously provided

throughout training could not be determined from the research design

employed. What was clear, however, was that the subject did not

attain the high degree of estimation accuracy, even after approximately 50 hours of training, either group of alcoholics studied previously (by Lovibond and Caddy, and Silverstein and his colleagues)

attained. Studies in which BAL discrimination training comprised

a component of a comprehensive behavior therapy package have also been

reported. Most of these studies employed BAL discrimination training to establish discriminated aversions to BALs above a certain

level (for example, Caddy and Lovibond 1976; Miller 1978; Vogler,

Compton, and Weissbach 1975; Vogler, Weissbach, Compton and

Martin 1977; Wilson and Rosen 1975). Overall, these studies

have not contributed to a fuller understanding of the issues discussed in this paper thus far. For one thing, they were not

designed to permit inquiry into the actual acquisition patterns of

BAL discrimination. For another, assessment of these acquired discriminations following termination of training was not among the

studies' goals. Finally, the authors of most of these studies

presumed both that alcoholics can acquire accurate BAL discrimination

abilities and that these discriminations can be established on the

basis of sensory awareness training alone. However, neither of these

latter assumptions had been proven when these studies were undertaken.

Data bearing on the BAL discrimination ability of alcoholics at

the time these treatment studies were planned were both sparse and

equivocal.

A series of investigations exploring these issues with both alcoholic

and nonalcoholic subjects were then initiated; some were conducted

at the Alcohol Behavior Research Laboratory, Rutgers University;

others, at other research facilities in North America. It is to

this body of research that we now turn.

In a study similar in intent to that of Silver-stein, Nathan and Taylor

(1974), Bois and Vogel-Sprott (1974) reported some success in training

social drinkers to estimate BAL and, subsequently, to use these

estimates to self-titrate alcohol intake. Nine males participated

in each of six daily sessions. During the first three sessions, all

subjects consumed an amount of ethanol equivalent to 135 ml for a 150

lb individual. This was mixed with an equal volume of "7-UP." During

Session 1, subjects consumed four equal portions of the drink at

20 minute intervals, estimating BAL ten times during that time.

Accompanying each estimate, subjects provided "symptom reports"

describing their immediate subjective experiences. Feedback of

actual BAL was delivered only once during this session, when BAL

had reached its peak. Session 2 was identical to Session 1 except

that accurate feedback was provided subjects following each BAL

estimate. Session 3 was identical to Session 1; it was designed

to tap posttraining discrimination accuracy. Estimation accuracy

improved significantly from Session 1 to Session 2. A nonsignificant

decrease in accuracy from Session 2 to Session 3 was also reported.

181
These data suggest that these subjects, who were social drinkers,

acquired - and maintained - BAL estimation accuracy on the basis

of internal cues. However, BAL feedback was provided during

Sessions 1 and 3, and amount and rate of drink consumption were

identical all three sessions. As a result, subjects my have linked

these external cues to the feedback provided in Session 2 and, in

that way, learned to formulate subsequent estimates on this basis,

rather than on the basis of internal cues.

Sessions 4, 5, and 6 were designed to assess subjects' ability to

maintain discrimination accuracy when some of the external cues

previously provided them were modified by altering the manner in

which the drinks were constituted. Thus, drinks given in Session 4

averaged 100 ml of ethanol (instead of 135) and 160 ml of "7-UP"

(instead of 135). Subjects were not given ethanol during Sessions

5 and 6 as before but,-instead, their-preferred alcoholic beverage.

In addition, during all three of these sessions, rate and amount of

alcohol consumed were determined by the subjects themselves. During

all three sessions, subjects were required to select a target BAL

(between 40 and 60 mg/%) and, on the basis of internal sensations,

stop drinking when this level had been reached. Ten minutes following

the decision to stop drinking, subjects were asked to give a report

on subjective sensations, then to make a BAL estimate. Ten minutes

later, a second estimate and symptom report were obtained and BAL

feedback was again provided. Five subsequent symptom reports and

estimates were then taken at ten-minute intervals.

Results of these experimental manipulations were that estimation

errors increased moderately, though nonsignificantly, from Session

3 to Session 4. Estimation accuracy improved markedly, however, from

Session 4 to Session 6. Although estimation accuracy apparently

improved through these three sessions, the improvement may actually

have been more apparent than real. First, although subjects were

informed that their Session 4 drinks would differ from those previously consumed, these differences were not in fact substantial.

Actually, if subjects had been discriminating the strength of their

drinks, they might have programmed their Session 4 drinking to parallel that which characterized previous sessions. As a result, SAL

estimates could have been made on the basis of feedback first

delivered during Session 2. Likewise, estimates during Sessions 5

and 6 may have been guided by subjects' familiarity with their

"customary" drinks and by the limited feedback which was available

during these sessions rather than by the internal cues training

provided earlier.

One of the most adequately controlled studies in this area was

reported by Huber, Karlin and Nathan (1976). Its principal finding

was that nonalcoholics can acquire and maintain accurate BAL discriminations whether provided internal or external cue training.

Thirty-six nonalcoholic college students participated in three day182
long experimental sessions. In each, subjects consumed a total of

seven ounces of vodka mixed with tomato juice, randomly distributed

across six drinks. In an initial session, measures of pretraining

estimation accuracy were obtained. In the second, subjects were

assigned, on the basis of pretraining accuracy scores, to one of

three training groups: Internal training only (I); External training

only (E); or Internal and External training (I+E). Internal training

was designed to teach subjects to focus on changes in mood and bodily

sensations as a basis for identifying changes in BAL. External training relied on a programs learning booklet designed to teach subjects relationships between the amount and frequency of alcohol

intake andchanges in BAL.

In order to disguise the alcholic content of drinks during Sessions

2 and 3, subjects were required to gargle before every drink with au

anesthetic mouthwash. In both of these sessions, subjects also

estimated the alcoholic content of their drinks in order to permit.

assessment of discriminability of drink strength. During training,

BAL estimates, made seven times, were immediately followed by feedback. Subjects who received external training were told immediately

prior to each estimate what the actual alcoholic content of the

immediately preceding drink was; they were to use this information

and the formulae taught them in the programmed learning booklet to

estimate BAL. Subjects who received internal training were not told

the alcoholic content of their drinks during training; they were to

formulate BAL estimates on the basis of internal sensations and

feelings. Subjects in the I+E group made two sets of estimates: one

based on external cues, the other, on internal cues.

In the third, test, session of this study, subjects made four BAL

estimates; no feedback was given following any of these estimates.

Prior to these estimates, half the subjects in each group were told

the actual alcoholic content of their drinks, the other half were

not. An analysis of variance revealed that all subjects significantly

improved BAL estimation accuracy during training, then maintained

this improved accuracy in the third session. This improvment was

independent of the kind of training provided and whether or not

subjects had been told the alcoholic content of their drinks in the

third session. These results suggested that these nonalcoholic

subjects could use internal and external cues equally well to estimate

BAL. However, a word of caution regarding interpretation of these

data is also necessary. Despite the elaborate procedures employed

to disguise the strength of drinks, subjects were able to discriminate the various drink dosages to a limited extent; as a consequence,

discriminability of drink doses may have played sane role in subjects'

improved posttraining BAL estimation accuracy,

Given, though, that these data and those reported earlier suggest

that nonalcoholics can, in fact, learn to discriminate BAL on the

basis of changes in mod and bodily sensations, it was still an open

question whether alcoholics could learn to make BAL discriminations

on the basis of the same cues. Data from the study by Silverstein

183
and his colleagues suggested that alcoholics and nonalcoholics

might well differ on this basis. No study of alcoholic subjects,

however, had yet explored the differential efficacy of BAL discrimination training methods focussing on external and internal

cues. Instead, research in this area, almost entirely clinical,

had attempted to train alcoholics to discriminate BAL only via

internal cues, despite the dearth of evidence that alcoholics can

in fact do so. This research lacuna required a direct comparison of

the effectiveness of external and internal training methods with

alcoholics, a comparison which would afford evidence as to the

optimal mode of training BAL discrimination skills for treatment

Purposes. To fill this research void, alcoholic subjects were

selected for a partial replication of the Huber et al. (1976)

study which, like it, was conducted at the Alcohol Behavior Research

Laboratory, Rutgers University. The replication also served as a

test of the hypothesis first advanced by Huber and his coworkers

that the effects of tolerance to ethanol may be reflected in differences between alcoholics' and nonalcoholics' abilities to utilize

internal and external cues to discriminate BAL.

Like the 1976 study of nonalcoholics by Huber and his colleagues,

subjects in this study (by Lansky, Nathan, and Lawson, in press)

participated in three day long experimental sessions. The internal

and external training methods used in this study were identical to

those used by Huber et al. The study differed from that of Huber

et al. in the following ways: First, only two of the six experimental

conditions of the earlier study were replicated: Internal and External training, alcoholic content of third session drinks known.

Second, one extra BAL estimate was obtained in all sessions in order

to increase the number of analyzable data points. Third, there were

slight differences in the programming of drinks (the interval

between drinks was five minutes longer) and BAL estimates (the

interval between drinks and estimates was five minutes shorter).

Fourth, the scale on which subjects based their BAL estimates was

modified in order to make it more suitable for alcoholic subjects.

Finally, while training followed baseline assessment and testing

followed training in the former study by, respectively, one to two

weeks and three days, all sessions in this study were separated from

each other by one day.

TwO separate groups of four chronic alcoholic subjects lived in the

Alcohol Behavior Research Laboratory for two week periods. During

those periods, one group of four was given training in BAL discrimination via internal cues while the other received external cue training.

All subjects participated in three experimental sessions, each separated by a day on which no experimental activities took place. A n

initial baseline session was designed to obtain pretraining measures

of all subjects' BAL discrimination accuracy. Subjects were given

six drinks containing a total of seven ounces of 80 proof vodka over

a three-hour period; they were required to estimate BAL four times.

Blind as to actual alcoholic content of drinks, subjects were nonetheless required to estimate the amount of alcohol contained in each

drink. During Session 2, the training session, subjects who received

external training were given programmed learning booklets detailing

184
BAL dose relationships; those receiving internal training were to

focus on the physiological and affective concomitants of different

BALs. During this session subjects were again administered seven

ounces of 80 proof vodka and required to estimate drink strength.

They estimated HAL eight times in the course of the session and were

given feedback on actual BAL following each estimate. During this

and the final experimental session, subjects gargled with an

anesthetic mouthwash in order to mask the strength of drinks.

Session 3, designed to assess posttraining discrimination accuracy,

was identical to Session 1 except that subjects were told the

alcoholic content of each drink and were required to gargle with the

mouthwash.

Prior to training, both groups of alcoholics were unable to estimate

BAL with accuracy. During training (Session 2), when veridical BAL

feedback was available, estimation accuracy increased significantly

and equally for both groups: both groups of alcoholics acquired the

ability to estimate actual SAL and to follow the changes which took

place in BAL over the course of the session. Results of the third

(test) session revealed, however, that once feedback of actual

BAL was removed, only the externally trained alcoholics maintained

the ability accurately to estimate SAL and to follow changes in

actual BAL.

It was concluded that, unlike the nonalcoholics et al. (1976)

studied, the alcoholics in this study were not able to learn to discriminate HAL effectively on the basis of internal feelings and

sensations, although they could do so by referring to external cues.

These findings, then, supported an hypothesis first made by Silverstein, Nathan, and Taylor (1974), subsequently refined by Huber,

Karlin, and Nathan (1976) - that alcoholics have a fundamental

deficit in the ability to discriminate blood alcohol level on the

basis of internal cues. Huber and his colleagues had suggested, in

addition, that the relative inability of alcoholics to monitor

internal cues may be a function, at least in part, of shifting

levels of tolerance experienced by them during their lengthy drinking histories. As a result of these varying tolerance levels, discrete sets of internal cues had likely become associated with many

BALs, not just one (the latter presumably required for accurate BAL

discrimination). Alternatively, alcoholics may experience no internal

cues at moderate BALs, because of a high threshold for the effects of

intoxication, due to tolerance. Finally, alcoholics may have an

inherited dysfunction of internal receptors.

The tolerance and inheritance hypotheses were tested in a recent

study (Lipscomb and Nathan 1978) within this program of research

at the Alcohol Behavior Research Laboratory. Twenty-four male

Rutgers University undergraduates were selected to fall into four

experimental groups on the basis of usual drinking pattern (heavy

versus light) and familial alcoholism (present in close biological

relatives versus absent). Subjects were also tested on a standing

steadiness measure before and after consuming alcohol, then divided

into high and low tolerance groups based on changes in standing

stability under alcohol. Because standing steadiness is an extremely

185

300-345 0 - 79 - 13
sensitive measure of intoxication, it has also been suggested as a

potentially valuable measure of tolerance Moscowitz, Daily, and

Henderson 1974).

Subjects participated in a three session blood alcohol level discrimination training program which utilized only internal cue training.

During Session 1, the baseline session, subjects consumed alcohol in

six programmed doses and made eight estimates of intoxication without training or feedback on actual BAL. Accurate BAL feedback following each estimate and internal cue training were provided in Session

2. During the session's training sequence, subjects identified

bodily sensations and feelings with the aid of relaxation instructions

and adjective checklists, then matched these with the BAL feedback

provided. Subjects made BAL estimates without training or feedback during Session 3, the test session. A week separated each of

the three sessions.

Results showed that groups differing in drinking pattern or familial

alcoholism did not differ in ultimate BAL estimation accuracy following internal training. By contrast, when subjects were grouped

according to tolerance, "low tolerant" subjects (those whose body

sway sober and drunk differed markedly) were found to have been significantly more accurate in their Session 3 estimates than "high

tolerant" subjects (those whose body sway sober and drunk differed

very little). An analysis of covariance indicated that this effect

could not be accounted for by pretraining differences, suggesting

that low tolerant subjects were better able to use internal training.

These findings have important implications. Of greatest interest,

in all likelihood, is that these data extend results of our previous

research to the effect that alcoholics are less able than nonalcoholics to utilize internal cue training to attain BAL estimation

accuracy in the absence of external feedback. The current finding -

that low tolerance is associated with estimation accuracy - suggests

that the high tolerance characteristic of alcoholics may interfere

with estimation accuracy.

The exact process by which this interference takes place remains

unknown. Nathan has hypothesized that shifting levels of tolerance

cause different sets of intoxication cues to be associated with the

same BAL, in that way inhibiting association of one set of internal

cues with one BAL. Alternatively, it is possible that alcoholics no

longer experience cues to intoxication at low to moderate BALs. Preliminary support for this explanation was also found in the current

data. High tolerant subjects - less accurate at BAL estimation -

showed no increase in mean body sway under alcohol. This finding

suggests, in turn, that the dose administered had minimal intoxicating effects on this group, in contrast to low tolerant subjects, who

greatly increased body sway. Consequently, internal cues to intoxication might have less salience for high-tolerant subjects and,

accordingly, be more difficult to use as markers for the purpose of

186
BAL estimation. This line of reasoning suggests as well, that high

tolerance subjects could estinmate BAL more adequately in a higher

BAL range, a possibility With but limited utility for alcoholics

since the purpose of BAL discrimination training is moderate drinking.

Identification of a relationship between tolerance and BAL estimation

ability also contributes to a conceptual model for the development

of alcoholism. According to this model, early heavy, prolonged

drinking precipitates rapid acquired tolerance Which, in turn,

interferes With the utility of internal cues to monitor intoxication.

Sensitivity to these cues may serve as "brakes" or moderators for

the typical social drinker. While the social drinker may not be able

to label a given state of intoxication according to specific SAL

referents, he or she may recognize the appropriate BAL at Which to

stop drinking. Without this ability, by contrast, the heavy drinker

continues on to even heavier drinking and, in cyclical fashion, to

greater tolerance.

The treatment implications of this model are clear. Clinicians must

provide the alcoholic With an external set of "brakes" to substitute

for the internal cues used, by social drinkers. One approach to this

problem is the external BAL discrimination training program introduced by Huber, Karlin, and Nathan (1976). Accurate BAL discrimination, however, is only one goal of a multifaceted treatment program for alcoholics. It is well known, for sample, that motivation

is a critical treatment issue for alcoholics Whether the goals of

treatment are abstinence or controlled drinking. Even if SAL discrimination were successfully learned, the alcoholic would also have

to be motivated to use this new skill. A program designed to

increase alcoholics' treatment motivation through external supports

and constraints has recently been developed by Hunt and Azrin (1973).

In their "community reinforcement" program, natural reinforcers

including jobs, family attention and access to a social club were

made contingent upon abstinence. A similar program could be applied

to the goal of controlled drinking by making the same reinforcers

contingent upon moderation.

The necessary movement to external controls for the treatment of

alcoholism reflects current treatments for obesity (Stunkard 1972),

suggesting an interesting parallel between research findings in

the two areas. Recent evidence suggests that the obese may be more

dependent on external cues, such as time of day or physical presence

of food, than they are on internal hunger cues to determine quantity

and frequency of food consumed. The nonobese, on the other hand,

are said to rely on internal cues to regulate eating (Nisbett and

Storms 1974; Schachter 1971). This distinction between the obese

and nonobese may apply as well to alcoholics and nonalcoholics.

Alcoholics may be less able than nonalcoholics to use internal cues

to estimate BAL, an observation recently supported by Ludwig and

his colleagues (1978). Working independently Within a different

research paradigm, these researchers also conclude that alcoholics,

unlike nonalcoholics, appear not to possess the necessary interoceptive processes to modulate their drinking. Taken collectively, these

187
findings suggest that alcoholisn and obesity - conditions that are

both compulsive, self-destructive behavior - may have a basic, underlying process in common: the inability to monitor bodily reaction

to the abused substance.

Another implication of the current findings is that a behavioral

measure may be a more sensitive indicator of tolerance than drinking

pattern. In this study, for example, drinking pattern did not predict differential performance on the standing steadiness task, even

though this measure was sensitive to BAL. It is likely that, in the

young, college-aged population studied, tolerance to alcohol was

more a function of initial reactivity to alcohol or "initial tolerance"(Kalant et al. 1971), the amount of alcohol necessary upon

first exposure to produce a behavioral effect, than of chronic tolerance, the acquired lessening of effect due to repeated exposure to

alcohol. While initial tolerance levels are subsequently modified

by drinkingpattern, this process occurs gradually, making drinking

pattern an unreliable predictor of tolerance in younger, nonalcoholic

subjects. A recent finding by Ogurszoff and Vogel-Sprott (1976)

to the effect that young social drinkers grouped according to drinking pattern did not differ in BAL discrimination ability confirms

this view. This finding, replicated in the current study, underscores the importance of viewing tolerance distinct from drinking

pattern. While the importance of tolerance has long been recognized

in theoretical models of alcoholism, it has been largely ignored as

an independent variable because of inability. to this time, reliably

to measure it.

Considerable caution should be exercised in making any predictions

regarding differential risk for alcoholism between the tolerance

groups of nonalcoholics in the current study. At present, it is

not known whether there are predisposing factors involved in the

acquisition of tolerance. For example, it is not clear that the

"high tolerance" subjects in this study will acquire additional tolerance at a faster rate than "low tolerance" subjects. The possibility

remains of an inherited predisposition for tolerance acquisiton. To

investigate this issue most effectively, measures of tolerance should

be included as a premeasure in long term studies of the development

of alcoholism.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Preparation of this manuscript and support for some of the research

discussed in it were enabled by NIAAA Grant No. AA00259.

REFERENCES

Bois, C. and Vogel-Sprott, M. Discrimination of low blood alcohol

level and self-titration skills in social drinkers. Q J Stud Alc,

1974, 35: 8697.

Caddy, G.R. and Lovibond, S.H. Self-regulation and discriminated

aversive conditioning in the modification of alcoholics' drinking

behavior. Behav Ther, 1976, 7: 223-230.

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Huber, H., Karlin, R., and Nathan, P.E. Blood alcohol level discrimination by nonalcoholics: The role of internal and external cues.

J Stud Alc, 1976, 37: 27-39.

Hunt, G.M., and Azrin, N.H. The community reinforcement approach to

alcoholism. Behav Res Ther, 1973, 11: 91-104.

Kalant, H., LeBlanc, A.E., and Gibbins, R.J. Tolerance to and

dependence on alcohol. In Israel, Y., and Mardones, J. (Eds.)

Biological Basis of Alcoholism. New York: John Wiley and Sons,

Chapter 9, 235-270, 1971.

Lansky, D., Nathan, P.E., and Lawson, D. Blood alcohol level discrimination by alcoholics: The role of internal and external cues.

J Consult Clin Psychol, in press.

Lipscomb, T.R. and Nathan, P.E. Effect of family history, of alcoholism, drinking pattern, and tolerance on blood alcohol level

discrimination. Manuscript in preparation, 1978.

Lovibond, S.H., and Caddy, G.R. Discriminated aversive control in

the moderation of alcoholics' drinking behavior. Beh Ther, 1970,

1: 437-444.

Ludwig, A.M.; Bendfelt, F.,; Wikler, A.; and Cain, R.B. "Loss of

Control" in alcoholics. Arch Gen Psychiat, 1978, 35: 370-373.

Miller, W.R. Behavioral treatment of problem drinkers: A comparative

outcome study of three controlled drinking therapies. J Consul Clin

Psychol, 1978, 46: 74-86.

Moscowitz, H., Daily, J., and Henderson, R. Acute Tolerance to

Behavioral Impairment by Alcohol in Moderate and Heavy Drinkers.

Report to the Highway Research Institute, National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration, Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C.,

April, 1974.

Nathan, P.E. and Briddell, D.W. Behavioral assessment and treatment

of alcoholism. In B. Kissin & H. Begleiter (Eds.), The Biology of

Alcoholism, Volume 5. New York: Plenum Press, 1977.

Nisbett, R.E., and Storms, M.D. Cognitive and social determinants

of food intake. In H. London and R.E. Nisbett (Eds.) Thought and

Feeling: Cognitive Alteration of Feeling States. Chicago: Aldine,

1974.

Ogurszoff, S. and Vogel-Sprott, M. Low blood alcohol discrimination

skills of social drinkers With Widely varied drinking habits.

Can J Beh Sci, 1976, 8: 232-242.

Paredes, A.; Jones, B.M.; and Gregory, D. An exercise to assist

alcoholics to maintain prescribed levels of intoxication. Alc Tech

Rep 1974, 2: 24-36.

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Schachter, S. Some extraordinary facts about obese humans and rats.

Am Psychol, 1971, 26: 129-144.

Silverstein, S.J.; Nathan, P.E.; and Taylor, H.A. Blood alcohol

level estimation and controlled drinking by chronic alcoholics.

Beh Ther, 1974, 5: 1-15.

Stunkard, A. New therapies for eating disorders: Behavior modification of obesity and anorexia nervosa. Arch Gen Psychiat,

1972, 26: 391-398.

Vogler, R.E.; Compton, J.V.; and Weissbach, T.A. Integrated behavior

change techniques for alcoholics. J Consult Clin Psychol, 1975,

43: 233-243.

Vogler, R.E.; Weissbach, T.A.; Compton, J.B.; and Martin, G.T.

Integrated behavior change techniques for problem drinkers in the

community. J Consult Clin Psychol, 1977, 45: 267-269.

Wilson, G.T.; Leaf, R.C.; and Nathan, P.E. The aversive control

of excessive alcohol consumption by chronic alcoholics in the

laboratory setting. J Appl Beh Analy, 1975, 8: 13-26.

Wilson, G.T., and Rosen, R. Training controlled drinking in an

alcoholic through a multi-faceted behavioral treatment program: A

case study. In J.D. Krumboltz & C.E. Thoresen (Eds.), Counseling

Methods. New York: Holt, Rinehart, &Winston, 1975.

AUTHORS

Peter E. Nathan, Ph.D.

Professor and Director

Alcohol Behavior Research Laboratory

Rutgers University, Busch Campus

P.O. Box 819

Piscataway, New Jersey 08854

Thomas R. Lipscomb, Ph.D.

Department of Psychiatry

School of Medicine

University of Connecticut

Farmington, Connecticut 06032

190
Chapter 13

A Cognitive-Behavioral Model of

the Relapse Process

G. Alan Marlatt, Ph.D

Few would doubt that the techniques of behavior therapy or behavior

modification are capable of bringing about meaningful changes in

behavior. In the past two decades, we have developed a plethora of

intervention procedures which have proven effective in modifying a

wide variety of target behaviors ranging from snake phobias to

sexual dysfunctions. Despite our successes in being able to initiate changes in behavior, we are still grappling with the difficulties

involved in maintaining behavioral change over time and across

situations.

The study of addictive behaviors provides ample opportunity to

examine the maintenance problem, for recidivism rates are notoriously

high across the spectrum of such behaviors. The commonality of

relapse rates across these problem behaviors is striking: about

two thirds of all relapses occur within the first ninety days

following treatment (Hunt, Barnett and Branch 1971). These data

strongly suggest the possibility of common elements underlying the

mechanism of relapse itself. While the importance of individual

properties of various substances cannot be ignored, particularly as

they affect the development of abuse patterns within user groups,

the approach we have adopted seeks to understand the determinants

and reactions to the relapse episode itself, viewed as a discrete

behavioral entity.

Our approach applies specifically to the study of relapse in human

subjects, where cognitive factors play a paramount role as they

interact with other behavioral and physiological factors. For this

purpose, we have defined relapse as any discrete violation of an

imposed rule or set of rules governing the rate or pattern of

consumatory behaviors. The criterion of abstinence, the most

stringent and absolute rule one can adopt in this regard, is violated

by a single occurrence of target behavior.

The study involves the comparative analysis of a large number of

relapse episodes, drawn from individuals who have received treatment

of problems associated with the use of alcohol, tobacco, and heroin.

gather than focusing on the internal, physiological factors

191
associated with the particular addictive properties of these three

substances, we have based our analysis on the situational or

environmental determinants of relapse, and on the individual’s

cognitive interpretation of the relapse episode. Because we have

been concerned with the connection between the initial relapse

episode and subsequent use of the substance, our theoretical model

has been designed to predict reactions to the relapse based on

cognitive-behavioral theoretical principles.

The development of this model began with a study evaluating the

effectiveness of aversive conditioning procedures with chronic

alcoholics (Marlatt 1973). The results of this study revealed the

presence of powerful interpersonal forces as determinants of relapse.

Over fifty percent of all relapse situations fell into one of the

following two categories: (a) situations in which the patient was

frustrated or angered, usually in an interpersonal or social situation; and (b) situations in which the patient was confronted by

social pressures to resume drinking, usually from a drinking partner

or family member. The results indicated the need for an expanded

classification system of relapse situations and a new study that

would evaluate its effectiveness over a larger sample of subjects.

Accordingly, we obtained detailed accounts of relapse episodes from

a total of 137 individuals, all of whom were involved in treatment

programs for either alcoholism, smoking or heroin addiction (Marlatt

and Gordon 1978).

The alcoholism sample consisted of seventy subjects, all male

chronic alcoholics (average age in the mid-forties range) drawn from

two inpatient treatment programs (forty-eight subjects from a state

hospital inpatient program and twenty-two from an inpatient

Veterans Administration hospital program). All alcoholics participated in programs with abstinence as the primary goal of treatment.

Data on smoking relapses were obtained from thirty-five subjects,

college-age males and females, who participated in a smoking cessation program conducted at the University of Washington. Descriptions

of relapse were also obtained from thirty-two heroin addicts (both

male and female young adults), who were assessed following termination of treatment as part of a statewide evaluation of services.

A relapse was defined as the first use of illegal heroin or other

opiates for this group of subjects. For the alcoholics and the

smokers, the first drink or the first use of tobacco constituted

the relapse episode.

All subjects were contacted within ninety days of the termination

of the subject’s treatment program for followup assessment. The

alcoholics and heroin addicts were interviewed in person at this

time, whereas the smoking subjects filled out a detailed questionnaire designed to obtain the same information. Most of the

questions asked were patterned after the followup version of the

Drinking Profile (Marlatt 1976). As in the previous study, each

subject was asked to give the date and time of the relapse episode

and to describe the setting in which the episode occurred (place,

and presence/absence of other individuals). In addition, the

following open-ended questions were asked, to provide the descriptive basis for the subsequent content analysis ratings: (a) When

I took my first drink (or cigarette, or fix of heroin), the

192
situation was as follows (briefly describe the important features

of the situation which led you to take the first drink); (b) What

would you say was the main reason for taking that first drink?;

(c) Describe any inner thoughts emotional feelings (things

within you as a person) that triggered off your need or desire to

take the first drink at that time; and (d) Describe any particular

circumstances or set of events, things which happened to you in

the outside world, which triggered off your need or desire to take

the first drink. Other questions were asked concerning the subject’s

reactions to the relapse episode, including whether or not the first

“slip” was followed by subsequent use of the substance on the same

or on following occasions.

The next step involved the development of a classification system

to enable the assignment of each relapse episode to an independent

category. The first category, intrapersonal/environmental determinants, was used whenever the relapse episode involved a response

to primarily psychological or physical events (e.g., coping with

intrapersonal emotional states, giving in to “internal” urges, etc.

or a response to a nonpersonal environmental event (e.g., misfortune, accident, financial loss, etc.). Here, the emphasis is on

precipitating events in which another person or group of individual

is not a significant factor.

sonal determinants, applied whenever the relapse episode involve

The second major category, interperthe significant influence of other individuals (e.g., coping with

interpersonal conflict, social pressure, etc.).

After the classification system was derived, two students were

trained to assign category scores for the relapses described in the

questionnaires mentioned above. Training continued until a high

degree of agreement between raters was obtained: in an independent

test of reliability, the inter-rater agreement was eighty-eight

percent for category assignment. Each rater was then asked to

score approximately half of the 137 relapse episodes given by

subjects in the alcoholism, smoking and heroin addiction treatment

groups. The results of this classification system are presented

The data in Table 1 indicate that over three-quarters (76%) of all

relapse episodes fall into just three categories: coping with

negative emotional states (37%), social pressure (24%), and coping

with interpersonal conflict (15%). For the remaining twenty-four

percent of all relapses, the distribution was as follows: giving

into temptations or urges (7%), enhancement of interpersonal

positive emotional states (3%), negative physical states (4%),

testing personal control (4%), and enhancement of intrapersonal

positive emotional states (6%).

The majority (58%) of all relapses involved intrapersonal or

environmental determinants; forty-two percent involved primarily

interpersonal determinants. In the interpersonal settings, almost

all (82%) of the relapse episodes involved coping with frustration

or anger. In the intrapersonal settings, however, the results were

reversed, with eighty-five percent of relapses triggered by

emotional states other than frustration and anger. These results

seem to indicate that frustration and anger associated with relapse

193
TABLE 1

Analysis of Relapse Situations with Alcoholics,

Smokers, and Heroin Addicts

194
stem primarily from interpersonal sources (arguments with others,

etc.), whereas other negative emotions (fear, anxiety, etc.), seem

to predominate as determinants of relapse when significant other

individuals are not involved. These findings were consistent for

each of the three subject groups in our sample.

Coping with negative physical states accounted for only four percent

of all relapses and mostly involved the heroin addict group. None

of the alcoholics or smokers cited physical withdrawal as a determinant of relapse, a finding which casts doubt on theories which

posit withdrawal symptoms as the primary precipitating factor in

relapse (Marlatt 1978). Temptations or urges may be related to

the subjective experience of craving. sometimes posited as a

conditioned response to cues associated with prior withdrawal

(Ludwig and Wikler 1974). Yet this category accounted for only

seven percent of all relapses, most of which occurred in the

alcoholic group, with relatively few smokers and no heroin addicts

citing this as a determinant. In addition, the use of a substance

to enhance positive emotional states, whether in an intrapersonal

or interpersonal situation, accounted for relatively few relapses

(9%). These findings suggest that coping with stress (whether it

is associated with negative emotional states, interpersonal conflicts, or a response to social pressure, etc.) is a much stronger

determinant of relapse than the desire to “feel good,” to enhance

already existing positive emotional states, or to cope with negative

physical states.

Only among the alcoholic sample was testing personal control given

as a determinant of relapse. For a small subgroup of the

alcoholics (9%), the desire either to test one’s ability to have

a drink or two and then stop, or the intention to test the effects

of the abstinence-oriented treatment program, was given as the

precipitating event. As none of the smokers or heroin addicts

cited tests of personal control as the primary determinant, it

seems likely that some alcoholics are particularly susceptible to

this temptation.

Approximately one-fourth of all relapses were classified under

the social pressure category. Whether the influence of social

pressure was direct or indirect in nature interacted in an

important way with the substance or drug used. For alcoholics

and heroin addicts, the predominant relapse situation involved

direct social pressure, or actual contact between users (e.g.,

meeting an old drinking buddy who puts pressure on the person to

begin drinking again; or the addict running across someone who

offers some of his/her stash). For the smokers, on the other

hand, the pattern was reversed. Smokers showed a greater tendency

to succumb in situations where others were smoking (observation of

models), even though the other smokers put no direct pressure on

the observers to join in the indulgence. This finding may reflect

the fact that smoking is a far more public behavior (exhibited

across a wide variety of situations) than is drinking or the

illicit use of narcotics.

Our three groups relapsed within a relatively short time of completing their respective treatment programs. For our sample,

195
the average number of days between beginning abstinence and the

subsequent date of relapse was seventeen days for smokers, thirty

days for the alcoholics, and thirty-two days for the heroin addicts.

These figures must be interpreted with caution, however, because of

differences among the treatment programs involved.

To account for the similarity of the relapse process across

different consumatory ‘behaviors, we have constructed a theoretical

model based on a cognitive-behavioral orientation. Underlying this

model of relapse is a cognitive process which we have labeled the

Abstinence Violation Effect (AVE) . The AVE is postulated to occur

under the following conditions: (a) The individual is personallv

committed to an extended or indefinite period of abstinence from

engaging in a specific behavior; (b) The behavior occurs during

this period of voluntary abstinence.

We hypothesize that the AVE itself is characterized by two key

cognitive elements:

(1) A cognitive dissonance effect (Festinger 1964) wherein the

occurrence of the previously restricted behavior is dissonant

with the cognitive definition of oneself as abstinent. Cognitive

dissonance is experienced as a conflict state, and underlies

what most people would define as guilt for having “given in to

temptation."

(2) A personal attribution effect (cf., Jones, Kanouse, Kelley

et al. 1972), wherein the individual attributes the occurrence

of the taboo behavior to internal weakness or personal failure,

rather than to external situational or environmental factors.

The additive effects of both reactions will greatly increase the

probability of repeating the restricted behavior and engaging in

a full blown relapse. From this perspective, relapse is determined

in large part by the alcoholic’s perception of having “lost

control” when the first slip occurred.

The conditions under which the AVE would come into play are

mediated by the individual’s overall sense of personal selfefficacy and the dynamics of the relapse situation itself. While

the factors that determine relapse are interwoven in a network

of complex interactions, the basic sequence of cognitive events

appears consistent across substances. Thus, our model for the

conditions of a full blown relapse is summarized as follows:

(a) The abstinent individual feels “in control” until s/he

encounters a high risk situation which challenges his/her perception

of control;

(b) The individual lacks an appropriate method of coping with

the high risk situation, or fails to engage in a coping response;

(c) S/he has positive expectancies about the effects of the

substance or behavior s/he is abstaining from;

(d) S/he engages in that behavior or consumes that substance;

(e) S/he experiences one or both components of the Abstinence

Violation Effect;

(f) The probability of continued use of that substance markedly

increases.

196
Most traditional treatment programs for addictive behaviors, including those for alcoholism, smoking control, and heroin addiction, tend

to ignore the relapse issue altogether in their intervention procedures . Yet, teaching skills that may help an individual to cope

successfully with a relapse would seem to be a matter of common sense.

Skills offer more help to the individual than relying on vague

constructs such as “will power” or trying to adhere to the advice

implied by various slogans. With this in mind, the following is a

brief description of intervention strategies for coping with a

potential relapse situation. (See Figure 1).

A. High Risk Situation. The first step to take in the prevention

of relapse is to train the client to recognize those high risk

situations which are likely to increase the probability of relapse.

The goal would be to teach the client to recognize the discriminative

stimuli that are associated with “entering” a high risk situation

and to use these warning signals as cues to implement an alternative

sequence of behavior. Self-monitoring procedures (McFall 1977)

provide an effective means of identifying potential high risk

situations as do the Drinking Profile (Marlatt 1976) and the Situational Competency test (Chaney, O'Leary, and Marlatt 1978).

B. Coping Responses If the client has never learned the appropriate coping response to high risk situations. the emphasis should

be on teaching the requisite-skills involved. On the other hand,

if the response is available in the client’s repertory but is

blocked by an inhibiting influence, the therapist must first deal

with the client’s reactions so that the response can be performed

with minimal anxiety. One suggestion that may increase the

generalization of newly acquired coping skills is to require the

client to practice the adaptive behavior in the actual high risk

situation. The therapist who is working with smokers or drinkers

who have recently pledged themselves to abstinence could, for

example, take a group of clients to an actual bar or nightclub for

a “dry run” experience. The effectiveness of a skill training

approach with chronic alcoholics is described in a recent study by

Chaney, O’Leary, and Marlatt (1978).

C. “Self-Efficacy and Lifestyle Intervention. In addition to

providing the client with a set of specific skills, each designed.

as a coping response to a particular high risk situation, the

therapist can also impart a number of global strategies or

procedures which provide a broader framework for the relapse

prevention program. Some of these might be general problem solving strategies, decisionmaking skills, skills for increasing

a general sense of self-efficacy and control (i.e., jogging,

meditation or relaxation training). These activities also

represent alternate forms of “self-indulgence” and relaxation to

substance use.

D. Outcome Expectancies of Substance Use. This phase of the

program involves the provision of information about the long range

effects of excessive substance use on physical health and socialwell-being. This information is necessary in order to counter the

tendency to think only of the initial pleasant short term effects

of substance use.

E. Initial Use of Substance: What to Do if a Slip Occurs.

Here, the client can be prepared in advance to cope with this

possible outcome, and try to apply some “brakes” so that the

197

slip does not escalate into a full blown relapse. A combination

of specific skills and cognitive intervention strategies would

seem to offer the greatest advantage for relapse prevention. For

a more detailed presentation of the relapse prevention approach,

the reader is referred to two recent publications (Marlatt 1979;

Marlatt and Gordon 1978).

REFERENCES

Chaney, E.F., O'Leary, M.R., and Marlatt, G.A. Skill training with

alcoholics. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1978,

in press.

Festinger, L. Conflict, Decision and Dissonance. Stanford:

Stanford University Press, 1964. 

Hunt, W.A., Barnett, L.W., and Branch L.G.

addiction programs. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 27:455-456,

Relapse rates in

1971.

Jones, E.E., Kanouse, D.E., Kelley, H.H., Nisbett, R.E., Valins, S.,

and Weiner, B. (Eds.). Attribution: Perceiving the Causes of

Behaviors. Morristown, N.J.: General Learning Press, 1972.

Ludwig, A.M. and Wikler, A. "Craving" and Relapse to Drink.

Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 35:108-130, 1974.

Marlatt G.A. A Comparison of Aversive Conditioning Procedures

in the Treatment of Alcoholism. Paper presented at the meeting

of the Western Psychological Association, Anaheim, Calif., 1973.

Marlatt, G.A. The drinking profile: A questionnaire for the

behavioral assessment of alcoholism. In: Mash, E.J. and

Terdal, L.G., eds. Behavior Therapy Assessment:

and Evaluation. New York: Springer, 1976.

Diagnosis, Design,

Marlatt, G.A. Craving for alcohol, loss of control, and relapse:

A cognitive-behavioral analysis. In: Nathan, P.E., Marlatt, G.A.,

and Loberg, T., eds. Alcoholism: New Directions in Behavioral

Research and Treatment. New York: Plenum, 1978.

Marlatt, G.A. Alcohol use and problem drinking: A cognitivebehavioral analysis. In: Kendall, P.C., and Hollon, S.P., eds.

Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions: Theory, Research and

Procedures. New York: Academic Press, 1979, in press.

Marlatt, G.A. and Gordon, J.R. Determinants of relapse: Implications for the maintenance of behavior change. In: Davidson, P.,

ed. Behavioral Medicine: Changing Health Lifestyles. New York:

Brunner/Mazel, 1978, in press.

McFall, R.M. Parameters of self-monitoring. In: Stuart, R.B., ed.

Behavioral Self Management: Strategies, Techniques, and Outcomes:

New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1977.

199
AUTHOR

G. Alan Marlatt, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology

Department of Psychology, Nl-15

University of Washington

Seattle, Washington 98195

200
Part IV Obesity
Chapter 14

Current Status of Behavioral

Treatment of Obesity

G. Terence Wilson, Ph.D.

It is not unfair to say that behavioral treatment programs for obesity

have arrived at something of an impasse. The publication of Stuart's

landmark paper in 1967 reporting unprecedented success in the treatment of obesity triggered a sudden burst of research on behavior

therapy for obesity. The initial results appeared to be encouraging.

In 1972 Albert Stunkard declared that behavior modification was the

most successful form of treatment for obesity. Coming from the

authority who had earlier issued an extremely pessimistic and widely

quoted1 verdict on the efficacy of medical and nonbehavioral treatment approaches to obesity (Stunkard 1958), this favorable assessment of behavior modification provided another significant impetus

for behavioral researchers in this area. So intense has the research

activity in this area been that approximately a decade after Stuart's

(1967) report, Jeffery, Wing, and Stunkard (1978) reflected a growing concern that "research on the behavioral treatment of obesity

has achieved a popularity verging on faddism" (p.189). More importantly, after the initial success in the application of behavioral

methods for obesity, therapeutic advances have seemed to have leveled

off. In particular, the sparse data on long-term efficacy proved

disappointing (Stunkard & Penick in press). To many, behavioral

treatment of obesity had flattered only to deceive. Within the

behavior therapy camp, Aubrey Yates (1975) described the treatment

of obesity as an instance of "when behavior therapy fails" (p.133).

Nonbehavioral critics, particularly those committed to sane form of

biological interpretation of obesity, have reaffirmed their belief

that a learning-based treatment method is unlikely to have much of

a long-term effect on weight reduction.

The purpose of the present paper is to take a close look at the

apparent impasse in the behavioral treatment of obesity and to suggest

future research directions. What then is the current empirical status

of outcome research on the behavioral treatment of obesity? This can

be summarized in the following five points: (1) Behavioral treatment

has proved more effective in producing weight loss than alternative

treatment methods in the short term; (2) studies canparing the longterm success of behavioral treatment of obesity have been conspicuous

by their relative absence and where data on long-term efficacy exist

they are often discouraging; (3) behavioral treatment programs have

almost always produced weight losses that fall short of clinical

202
significance even if they are statistically significant within

individual studies; (4) behavioral treatment programs have been

consistently characterized by massive inter-individual variability

in outcome; and (5) reliable predictors of treatment outcome have

yet to be identified.

This pattern of findings, particularly the relative lack of convincing

data on long-term efficacy, has led to the conclusion that behavior

therapy offers little or limited clinical utility in the treatment

of obesity. However, there are alternative ways of interpreting the

available evidence. Of course, the possibility exists that obesity

is caused and maintained by physiological or metabolic factors that

are as yet not fully understood. Certainly enough data currently

exist indicating that the role ofbiological factors in obesity cannot

be overlooked (Stunkard &Mahoney 1976). It may be that the effects

of these biological factors in maintaining obesity cannot (or, possibly,

should not) be overcome through the use of behavioral methods aimed

at altering eating and exercise habits. Or it may even be the case

that behavioral procedures are not the optimal psychological means

of controlling obesity even if this condition is amenable to nonphysical interventions.2

 These are open questions that will eventually be decided on the basis of the appropriate research. The

thesis I wish to advance here is that another explanation for the

relatively unimpressive long-term clinical findings from the behavioral

treatment of obesity is that most treatments to date have constituted

inadequate or incomplete applications of behavior therapy. It maybe

that we have not obtained better results, particularly maintenance of

treatment-produced weight loss with at least mild to moderate cases

of obesity, because we have failed to implement treatment programs

that are consistent with what is currently known about the optimal

methods for producing and sustaining long-term changes in chronic,

refractory behavioral problems such as obesity. In short, I am suggesting a sophisticated behavioral approach to the treatment of obesity

as yet to be properly tested. The remainder of this paper indicates

what directions the development of a more effective behavioral treatment

approach might take.

There is good reason to suggest that the effort to improve upon existing behavioral programs might pay dividends. To begin with, there

is the fact that despite the limitations of the current empirical

status of behavior therapy for obesity as indicated in the five-point

summary above, definite benefits have accrued from the application

of behavioral methods over the past dozen years. It is worth noting

sane of these benefits. First, as mentioned above, behavioral treatments have proved to be superior to alternative psychological methods

at least in the short term. Second, the effects of behavior therapy

have been replicable across a broad range of different therapists,

subjects, and situations. Third, behavioral procedures have proved

widely disseminable. For example, behavioral methods have been incorporated by Weight Watchers International, the largest and most successful commercial organization for the treatment of obesity (Stuart

1978). Although the evidence is not unambiguous, Nidetch (1978)

has claimed that the introduction of behavioral methods into the

Weight Watchers program has resulted in dramatically improved weight

203
losses. Fourth, behavior therapy has been shown to be a safe form of

treatment that does not appear to produce any adverse side-effects.

This is an important consideration given the frequently voiced concern

that obesity is a biologically normal state, the reduction Of which

might occasion negative physical and emotional consequences (cf.

Nisbett 1972). Finally, research on the behavioral treatment Of

obesity has yielded valuable information about the specific effects

of particular procedures. For example, we have begun to learn which

techniques work (e.g., self-monitoring of caloric intake) and which

do not (e.g., covert sensitization - see Franks and Wilson, 1975-78).

Identifying treatment-specific effects across different disorders is

the hallmark of an emerging science of clinical behavior change.

In discussing how behavioral treatment programs for obesity might be

improved, it is important to distinguish between the initial induction

of weight loss and its subsequent maintenance over time. It is,

especially the latter that has been ignored in most programs and it

is the development of effective maintenance strategies that must be

among the highest priorities of clinical researchers (cf. Wilson, in

press).

TREATMENT PROGRAMS

Almost without exception, the behavioral treatment programs that have

been evaluated in outcome studies have represented one or other variation of the basic program used by Stuart (1967) and described more

fully by Stuart and Davis (1972). As such, the principal techniques

used are behavioral self-control methods that include some form of

self-monitoring, stimulus control, self-reinforcement, contingency

contracting, and procedures designed to control the act of eating

directly. Treatment is almost invariably conducted on a group basis.

The average duration of treatment ranges from approximately four to

12 weeks. Most studies have not included an explicit emphasis on

physical exercise. Of those that do, few incorporate a systematic

program of exercise despite the fact that Stuart and Davis (1972),

among others, have stressed its importance.

The remarkable consistency with which essentially the same treatment

program has been adopted from study to study bespeaks the premature

formalization of the behavioral treatment of obesity. It is not uncommon, for example, to read research reports describing the application of the "standard Stuart and Davis (1972) treatment program."

This premature standardization of a behavioral treatment program has

been unfortunate for several reasons. In principle, it runs counter

to a cardinal tenet of behavior therapy that treatment is individually

tailored to the particular needs of each individual (Lazarus 1971;

Mischel 1968). Stuart and Davis (1972) themselves cautioned that

one of the myths in the treatment of obesity is that any program

is useful for everyone. Formalization of the treatment program for

obesity has also served to discourage active development of alternative

cognitive-behavioral strategies that might prove useful. Finally, it

has been pointed out that some of the fundamental assumptions underly204
ing the use of the Stuart and Davis-type procedures have gone either

unexamined or unvalidated3 (cf. Mahoney 1976).

The following are some recommendations about how behavioral treatment

programs might be revamped in a manner consistent with the knowledge

of behavior change that we have gathered from the assessment and

modification of a broad range of disorders.

Group Versus Individual Treatment

In his original study, Stuart (1967) treated his clients on an individual basis and emphasized the importance of individualizing treatment.

It is not without interest, therefore, that subsequent treatment

studies have overwhelmingly used a group setting. There appears to

have been no discernible rationale or empirical justification for

this uniform policy. It is probably attributable to the fact that

group treatment is more efficient and to the apparently widespread

perception that the treatment techniques could be implemented on a

standardized, group basis. In the only study of its kind, Kingsley

and Wilson (1977) directly compared the effects of individual versus

group behavioral treatment of obesity. The results showed that at the

end of an eight week treatment phase, individual treatment had an

edge over group treatment although this difference did not even approach

statistical significance. Of considerable importance, however, is

the fact that subjects treated on an individual basis showed significant relapse over the one-year followup period whereas group behavioral

treatment resulted in successful maintenance of weight loss. At the

one-year followup assessment the group treatment was significantly

superior to the individual treatment in terms of weight lost. These

results indicate that a group setting might be especially useful for

maintaining weight loss.

Caution should be had, however, before concluding that individual

treatment confers no significant advantage over group treatment in the

initial stage of therapy. An analysis of the actual procedures used

in the Kingsley and Wilson (1977) individual treatment condition

reveals substantial overlap with the relatively standard group treatment they employed. Furthermore, the actual range of techniques used

in the individual treatment condition in this study proved to be

relatively narrow given the broad spectrum of cognitive-behavioral

methods that are currently available. The issue of the multifaceted

treatment of obesity, using a wider range of methods than is typically

the case in most studies, is discussed in the following section.

What can be concluded at the present is that there is insufficient

evidence on the relative advantages of individual versus group treatment. It might be, as Kingsley and Wilson (1977) have hypothesized,

that an optimal treatment approach would consist of sane combination

of individual and group treatment. A combined approach of this nature

would ensure the detailed and individualized assessment of each individual's particular problem in addition to taking advantage of the

motivational benefits afforded by the group context. Such a treatment

strategy seem worth pursuing.

205
Broadening the Treatment Base

The typical behavioral treatment program thus far has been unnecessarily

limited in nature. Deriving from too simple an operant conditioning

model, the exclusive focus was on environmental cues that were

assumed to govern overeating. Although described as behavioral selfcontrol, the methods used actually amounted to external situational

control of behavior (Stuart 1972). The basic components of the typical program have almost invariably comprised stimulus control,

behavioral management, and contingency contracting of one kind or

another. One of the few widely used techniques that departs somewhat

from this heavy emphasis on external control of environmental cues

has been self-reinforcement, a procedure that has shown considerable

promise in the treatment of obesity (Bellack 1977; Mahoney 1974).

It is my impression that the behavioral treatment literature on obesity

shows surprisingly little evidence of the systematic use of additional

behavioral procedures that have been found to be of value in the treatment of other clinical disorders. Some examples may be mentioned.

Social skills training that would enable obese individuals to cope

more constructively with problem situations has been demonstrated to

produce impressive improvement among diverse patient populations,

including alcoholics (Chaney, O'Leary, & Marlatt 1978; Sobell &

Sobell 1978). Many of the social or interpersonal difficulties faced

by the problem drinker are shared by the obese. Declining a cocktail

or postprandial cognac when dining out with friends or acquaintances

at a restaurant is not terribly different from refusing dessert. The

obese person has to have the assertive skills to be able to say "No"

without becoming a killjoy and without suffering feelings of guilt,

shame or rejection. The obesity treatment literature does contain

scattered references to explicit assertion or social skills training

(e.g., Musante 1976), but they are surprisingly rare.

Although the laboratory-based research findings are mixed (Abramson &

Wunderlich 1972; McKenna 1972), few therapists would dispute the contention that emotional factors are often., albeit not always, critical

antecedents of overeating and obesity. Thorough behavioral assessment frequently reveals that obese individuals overeat in response to

anxiety, anger, or depression. Once again the parallel to alcohol

abuse can be drawn where the clinical evidence strongly implicates

the role of emotional distress among the important precipitants of

excessive drinking (e.g., Hodgson, Stockwell, & Rankin 1978; Miller

& Mastria 1977). It follows that a canprehensive treatment program

would include techniques designed to neutralize the situations that

elicit anxiety, anger, or depression and to equip these individuals

with effective, alternative coping skills. Behavior therapy is

demonstrably successful in reducing stress or anxiety (e.g., Goldfried

1977; O'Leary & Wilson 1975) and, more recently, effective treatment programs for coping with anger (Novaco 1977) and depression

(Rush, Beck, Kovacs, & Hollon 1977) have been developed. It is time

that these treatment methods are incorporated into more intensive

weight reduction programs that are based more closely on adequate

behavioral assessment.

206
Another limitation of the standard behavioral treatment program for

obesity has been the failure to address clients' cognitive activities

regarding food and their obesity. This neglect of the role of

cognitive processes in the maintenance and modification of obesity is

directly traceable to the hard-line operant conditioning model from

which the behavioral treatment of obesity was originally derived.

Stuart and Davis (1972) characterized this position well in their

influential text by emphasizing that "the environment rather than the

man is the agent of control in human behavior, so that efforts to

modify behavior should be addressed to changing the environment rather

than the man" (p.62). However, not all behavior therapists hold

such an extreme view of environmental influence on behavior. The

alternative, social learning viewpoint recognizes the importance of

environmental influences on behavior but emphasizes that the impact

of these influences is, to a large extent, cognitively mediated. In

terms of this social learning or cognitive-behavioral view, the person

is both the object as well as the agent of behavior change (Bandura

1977b; Mahoney 1974; Wilson & O'Leary, in press). It follows directly

from this view that cognitive processes will feature prominently in an

effective treatment program. Suffice it to note here the current

enthusiasm for "cognitive-behavior therapy" and the mounting evidence

of its therapeutic efficacy with such problems as anxiety, anger,

depression, and others (cf. Beck 1976; Mahoney & Arnkoff, in press;

Meichenbaum 1977; Rachman &Wilson, in press).

The importance of these relatively recent therapeutic developments is

underscored by the fact that there is good evidence that cognitive

factors influence the obese person's eating behavior (e.g., Mahoney

1975; Wooley & Wooley 1975). A recent self-help book by Mahoney

and Mahoney (1976) has emphasized the importance of cognitive factors

and includes several cognitive treatment methods. However, systematic

research investigations of this promising approach remain to be

completed. In an initial evaluation of the efficacy of a cognitivebehavioral treatment program for obesity, Collins (1978) has obtained

preliminary, short-term findings suggesting that a combined cognitivebehavioral program might be significantly more effective than either

the standard behavioral treatment or a cognitive treatment alone.

The cognitive-behavioral treatment program employed in this study was

an amalgam of principles and procedures derived from the cognitivebehavior therapies of Beck (1976), Ellis (1970), and Meichenbaum

(1977) which was combined with the conventional behavioral methods.

These results encourage further research along these lines, whatever

the long-term findings prove to be.

Another dimension of treatment that has been overlooked in the behavioral

literature on weight reduction programs concerns the obese person's

interpersonal relationships, particularly his or her marital relationship. The earlier comments about the likely value of assertion

training are pertinent to this discussion. However, the interpersonal

dimension of psychological functioning involves more than assertive

ness. The obese person requires social support if (s)he is to lose

a significant amount of weight and keep it off. In this connection

the actions and attitudes of the person's spouse are of the utmost

207
importance. For example, Stuart and Davis (1972) concluded that some

husbands" . ..are not only contributors to their wives' efforts to

lose weight, but may actually exert a negative influence" (pp.

19-20). Specifically, husbands were more likely than their overweight wives to initiate conversation of food-related topics and

were more likely to criticize their wives' eating behavior than they

were to praise moderation. Mahoney and Mahoney (1976) reported an

apparent relationship between treatment outcome and estimated family

support of subjects. These authors computed a family support index

based upon family attendance at therapy sessions and subjects'

reports of encouragement that they received. A positive correlation

between weight loss and family support was statistically significant

at the end of the 10 weeks treatment program but not at the 6-month

followup. Similarly, Jeffery et al. (1978) reported a significant

positive correlation between weight loss and social support in their

uncontrolled clinical treatment series. In the first experimentally

controlled evaluation of the therapeutic impact of including the

spouse in the behavioral weight reduction treatment program, Brownell

(1977) found that treating couples rather than individual subjects

produced significantly greater weight losses. These findings are

discussed more fully under maintenance of treatment effects below.

The foregoing has called attention to the need for an individualized,

multifaceted treatment of obesity based on a more comprehensive

assessment of the specific maintaining variables in each case. The

effective treatment of complex clinical disorders would seem to

demand such an expanded approach (Bandura 1969; Lazarus 1976;

O'Leary &Wilson 1975). It is interesting to note that in his

recent self-help book on weight control, Stuart (1978) outlines a

multimodal treatment approach that incorporates an emphasis on

emotional and cognitive factors and goes well beyond his original

Program.

The Duration and Scheduling of Treatment

As mentioned earlier, the typical length of the average behavioral

treatment program for obesity has ranged from 4 to 12 weeks. As

with the use of a group setting, the rationale for a time-limited,

modal treatment duration of about 8 weeks has never been spelled

out. It could be argued that since a good deal of the treatment outcane research has been conducted within university departments, the

length of treatment has been determined in large part by the length

of the semester. Many university activities, including university

clinic-based treatment programs, come to a conclusion at the end of

a semester! The fact programs have been invariably time limited is

attributable to research designs that require uniform treatment

across conditions. This is a common constraint that is imposed in

controlled therapy outcome studies across different problems.

It may be that a refractory problem such as obesity requires more

protracted treatment than is commonly the case. In their analysis of

208
the behavioral treatment literature on obesity, Jeffery et al. (1978)

found that the longer the duration of treatment the greater the

weight loss at the end of treatment. However, their own findings at

the Stanford Eating Disorders Clinic indicated that increasing treatment length did not facilitate long-term success. Time-limited treatment programs pose specific problems. It appears to make better

behavioral sense to decide to continue or terminate treatment as a

function of change in the behavior in question than to impose treatment limits arbitrarily on the basis of sane factor that is unrelated to the person's behavioral performance. Given the assumptions

underlying the behavioral approach to weight reduction, treatment

decisions of this sort would presumably be based on changes in eating habits rather than weight loss per se. However, recent research

has indicated that in addition to actual behavior change, the person's

expectations of self-efficacy that derive from such change might be

a more powerful predictor of future performance (Bandura 1977a;

Wilson, in press a ).

Related to this question about relatively brief, time-limited treatment

is the observation that the sort of weight loss that is typically

produced in treatment outcome studies is not sufficiently reinforcing

in itself to ensure continued weight-reducing efforts. But what if

treatment were continued until sizeable amounts of weight loss were

produced? More particularly, what if treatment were continued until

the subject's individual target weight is reached, however long that

treatment takes? It might be that at this level subjects will be more

motivated to adhere to weight control methods. Since so many overweight clients are seriously overweight, renewed attention might be

given to rapid methods of facilitating substantial weight loss such

as drugs or special diets. These methods that have been readily

dismissed by behavior therapists might be useful adjuncts as part

of the initial treatment program. They could then be faded out as

progress towards the ultimate goal of behavior self-control over

eating habits and exercise patterns is gradually established.

Aside from the duration of treatment, the frequency and pattern with

which treatment sessions are scheduled demands future research attention. In their survey of the literature, Jeffery et al. (1978)

reported that greater weight losses tended to be associated with a

higher frequency of treatment sessions. Stuart's (1967) original

study, for example, combined frequent sessions of intensive treatment

over a full year of treatment. The usual practice of scheduling treatment sessions on a fixed, weekly basis is an arbitrary one that undoubtedly is based more on the convenience it affords the investigators

than on any advantage it may offer the subjects. Fixed, weekly treatment sessions may do for some obese clients but prove a less satisfactory arrangement for others. Especially difficult cases may require

more frequent, intensive treatment sessions several times a week,

at least at the start of therapy. Thereafter treatment sessions may

be distributed over longer time intervals. In addition to actual

treatment sessions, the value of frequent (daily?) telephone contacts

209

300-345 0 - 79 - 14
should be explored. Intensive support for behavior change could also

be provided by some form of self-help group participation that serves

as an adjunct to more fomal treatment.

Who Administers Treatment?

The individuals who administer treatment in behavioral outcome studies

on the treatment of obesity range from undergraduates to professional

therapists. The fact that qualifications of therapists in these studies

are described only sketchily, if at all (Wilson 1978), illustrates

the fact that this aspect of treatment is downplayed in behavior therapy. This is unfortunate, since there are clear indications from the

treatment of other problems that the therapist can make a significant

contribution to treatment outcome (Wilson & Evans 1977). On the

one hand, while behavioral treatment of obesity is restricted to

highly standardized procedures that are administered in a group context in a frequently didactic manner, the influence of the individual

conducting treatment is unlikely to be a factor. In fact, it may be

that self-help manuals are as effective as therapist-administered

treatment in the short term (Hagen 1974). (Rut see Brownell, Heckerman, and Westlake [l978] as a cautionary note in this regard). On

the other hand, to the extent that behavioral treatment of obesity

becomes more individualized as a result of a searching assessment of

the full range of maintaining variables, the role of the therapist

will inevitably become more important and may influence treatment

outcome in significant ways. Once again firm evidence is lacking,

but it should be noted that Jeffery et al. (1978) reported that experienced therapists produced greater weight loss in their behavioral

treatment program and that Levitz and Stunkard (1974) found that professional behavior therapists obtained significantly better results

than lay therapists in their investigation.

MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES FOR LONG-TERM WEIGHT LOSS

The development of effective strategies to maintain treatment-produced

imrovement has received little systematic attention in the behavior

therapy literature. The treatment of obesity has been no exception

to this general trend and it is unlikely that impressive long-term

efficacy will be demonstrated until appropriate maintenance strategies are included as integral parts of therapy programs. Many of the

problems and potential involved in maintenance strategies for weight

loss are discussed by Franks and Wilson (1978), Stunkard and Penick

(in press), and Wilson (in press a). The analysis that follows is

geared directly to the problem of maintaining weight loss. However,

the conceptual issues this analysis raises and the recommendations

that are offered would appear to be directly relevant to the treatment

of substance abuse in general.

Multifaceted Treatment Programs

To begin with, the type of treatment program that is used undoubtedly

influences subsequent maintenance of weight loss. In terms of a social

210
learning approach, durability of initial treatment-produced change is

a function of the scope of the therapy program employed and largescale, multifaceted treatment program are the order of the day

(cf. Azrin 1977; Bandura 1969; O'Leary & Wilson 1975). In his

multimodal behavior therapy approach, Lazarus (1976) goes as far as

to state flatly that lasting treatment effects depend on the comprehensive treatment of seven separate but interactive modalities of

psychological functioning. These modalities are behavior, affect,

sensation, imagery, cognition, interpersonal relationships, and biolgoical factors. As indicated in the preceding section, complex

problems usually require multifaceted treatment program. Consistent with this view are the findings of Collins (1978) and Dunkel

and Glaros (1978). In both these studies, a combined cognitive

behavioral approach was superior to either a cognitive or a behavioral

treatment alone at admittedly short followups of 12 and 7 weeks

respectively. However, a caveat must be issued in this respect. More

is not always better. I have elsewhere discussed the finding from

the treatment of problems as diverse as anxiety, cigarette smoking,

and obesity that treatment programs that combine different techniques

are occasionally less effective than the use of a single procedure

(Franks &Wilson 1977). In the case of obesity, for instance,

McReynolds and Paulsen (1976) compared a comprehensive behavioral

treatment program to a more narrowly defined treatment emphasizing

stimulus control procedures. There was no difference between the two

groups at posttreatment. At followup evaluations of three and six

months, however, the more limited stimulus control treatment was

significantly superior. (Danaher [l977] has reported similar findings

from the behavioral treatment of cigarette smoking).

Assuming that this occasionally detrimental or less than optimal

effect of combining specific treatment techniques into a broader

program is a real phenomenon - and I believe that it is - it requires

explanation. Briefly, I have speculated that the negative impact of

combining different treatment techniques might be attributable to

its effect on subjects' adherence to therapeutic prescriptions. A

striking characteristic of behavior therapy is that clients are

asked to do sanething. The success of these behavioral methods is

directly dependent on the degree to which they are implemented by

the person (Wilson & Evans 1977). The systematic analysis of the

variables that determine adherence is just beginning, but already

it seems clear that complexity of treatment is a critical factor

(cf. Blackwell 1976; Dunbar & Stunkard, in press). The results from

the medical literature indicate that the more complex the treatment

regimen, the less the adherence. Behavioral treatment programs for

obesity are usually complex, and clients may not be given sufficient

time to digest each technique and incorporate it into their daily

routine. This possibility relates back to the point made in the

previous section concerning the duration of treatment. In addition

to researching what behavior change techniques to use and how to employ

then, we also have to learn when to use then. The timing of interventions is crucial in all forms of therapy (Strupp 1977) and behavior

therapy is no exception to this rule. A multifaceted treatment pro211
gram has to be sequenced properly. A technique employed at one point

in a sequence of interventions may be less effective than at another

time (e.g., Barlow, Reynolds, & Agras 1973). We know very little

about such niceties of optimal therapeutic practice at the present

time. However, it will be useful to be aware of these issues.

An important aspect of a comprehensive treatment program for obesity

that is frequently omitted or underemphasized is an explicit program

of physical exercise. The possible role of physical exercise in the

maintenance and modification has been discussed in several places

and need not be detailed here (cf. Mahoney, Rogers, Straw, & Mahoney,

in press). More to the point, outcome studies have clearly shown

the beneficial effect of including an exercise component in a behavioral

weight control program. Harris and Hallbauer (1973) found no difference between behavioral treatment focusing on changing eating habits

and an expanded treatment program that was designed to increase

exercise in addition to decreasing food intake at the end of a 12

week treatment period. At a four-month followup, however, the treatment that included an emphasis on exercise produced significantly more

weight loss. More recently, Stalonas, Johnson, and Christ (1978)

have described the positive effects on the maintenance of weight loss

of including an explicit exercise component in a behavioral treatment program.

Physical exercise has direct relevance to obesity in that it increases the expenditure of calories. Beyond this effect, however,

exercise might contribute importantly to a more general change in

life style. To the extent that a person becomes invested in systematic exercising and enjoys the experience (i.e., becoming an enthusiastic jogger), an alternative activity to the addictive behavior is

established. As such, physical exercise would be recommended as a

therapeutically desirable activity across the full range of addictive

behaviors. Marlatt and Gordon (in press) have this consideration in

mind in their advocacy of developing a "positive addiction" to

facilitate the life style change that is involved in giving up

substance abuse.

Booster Sessions

Within behavior therapy, booster sessions have long been proposed

as a means of maintaining behavior change (e.g., Eysenck & Rachman

1965). Taking their cue from the uncontrolled finding of Voegtlin,

Lemere, Broz, & O'Hallaren, (1942) that indicated the value of

posttreatment booster sessions with alcoholics, behavioral researchers

have evaluated the benefits of booster sessions as a maintenance

strategy in the treatment of obesity. Most of this research is

reviewed by Wilson (in press a) and can be summarized briefly here.

In the first of a related series of three studies, Kingsley and Wilson

(1977) found that booster sessions produced significantly greater

weight loss during the three months they were in effect, irrespective

of whether the initial treatment had been individual behavior therapy,

group behavior therapy, or group social pressure. Booster sessions

212
were discontinued after three months following treatment and at a

one year followup there was no longer any significant difference

between the booster and the no booster conditions. A second study

by Ashby and Wilson (1977) failed to replicate this finding of the

value of booster sessions. An evaluation of the effects of different types of booster sessions scheduled at different frequencies

found no significant difference between booster and no booster

conditions. Finally, Wilson and Brownell (in press) reported the

absence of a significant effect of booster sessions during a sixmonth followup of a group behavioral treatment program. Similarly

negative results were obtained by Hall, Hall, Borden, and Hanson

(1975).

These inconsistent results of booster sessions as a maintenance

strategy are not restricted to the treatment of obesity. Positive

results using booster sessions to maintain treatment effects with

cigarette smokers have been reported by Colletti and Kopel (1978)

and Kopel (1974). Yet Relinger, Bornstein, Bugge, Carmody, and John

(1977) found that booster sessions did not facilitate maintenance

of treatment effects over a three-month followup interval. Indeed,

there was sane indication that those subjects who received booster

sessions showed greater relapse rates than subjects in the no booster

session condition. In view of these inconsistent outcomes and changing theoretical perspectives about behavior change, I have suggested

that we have to revise our thinking about the nature and purpose

of booster sessions (see Franks & Wilson [1978]). The use of booster

sessions derives from the conditioning model in which they are designed to strengthen conditioned responses that were established in

treatment. These conditioned responses are considered to be the

result of an automatic conditioning process which is subsequently

weakened by the natural course of extinction. However, in terns

of a social learning analysis, conditioned reactions are selfactivated rather than automatically elicited (Bandura 1977b).

This latter framework emphasizes self-regulatory strategies rather

than stimulus-response bonds and the person assumes greater responsibility for self-directed behavior change. Booster sessions that

are prearranged to occur at fixed time intervals following treatment

may amount to a case of too little too late.

In terms of a self-regulatory model of behavior the obese individual

would need to monitor potentially problem behavior and institute

the appropriate corrective strategy at the first sign of loss of

control such as weight gain. These corrective or self-regulatory

strategies are presumably acquired during the initial treatment

phase. It may be that clients need to have access to a treatment

program contingent upon the inmediate signs of their deteriorating

self-control as opposed to an arbitrary interval schedule of treatment contact which is what most booster session maintenance strategies

amount to. This reasoning is an extension of the point made

earlier in this paper about the scheduling and termination of the

initial treatment phase being made more responsive to subjects'

behavioral performance rather than has usually been the case.

213
Social Support Systems

There are many sources of social support that could be drawn upon

to help the obese individual maintain weight loss. Possibly the

most powerful form of social support would come from the active

involvement of the obese person's spouse or family. In an initial

investigation of the therapeutic potential of including family

members in the treatment process, Wilson and Brownell (in press)

failed to obtain positive results over a six-month followup. However, in subsequent, better controlled study along the same lines,

Brownell (1977) demonstrated that the active involvement of the obese

person's spouse in the treatment program can result in a substantial

increase in therapeutic efficacy. The details of this investigation

are described by Brownell in his volume and Will not be repeated here.

Suffice it to point out that the significant impact of involving the

spouse in the treatment program in this study only became evident

during the six months following the termination of treatment. 'Ibis

indicates that participation by the spouse or family members is

especially useful as a maintenance strategy regardless of the nature

of the initial treatment program. In terms of amount of weight lost,

the results of this investigation are perhaps the most encouraging

yet obtained in a controlled outcome study.

Another source of social support Would be a specifically constituted

group whose function would be to reinforce behavioral changes achieved

during treatment. These groups could embody the useful features of

the group process that is part of the self-help groups that currently

exist (e.g., TOPS), while incorporating the greater structure and

specific goals and procedures of the behavioral treatment approach.

Maintenance groups of this nature might be particularly valuable

in the case of obese individuals Who for one reason or another do not

have the support of a spouse or family. Two larger social support

systems that go beyond the family and the treatment group and which

might contribute powerfully to the control of obesity are the person's

larger social community and the work or industrial setting. The

pioneering efforts of Maccoby et al. (1977) in the Stanford Three

Community study demonstrate that community education via mass media

can be effective in altering dietary habits and cigarette smoking

and thus in improving cardiovascular health in the community as a

whole. Programs for intervening in the work setting to encourage

positive health behavior and control obesity have just begun and

should prove cost-effective.

COGNITIVE CONTROL

Earlier in this paper the point was made that the role of cognitive

factors in the maintenance and modification of obesity has been neglected by behavioral researchers. This has been especially true with

respect to developing effective maintenance strategies for treatmentproduced improvement. Research on maintenance strategies has been

too narrowly focused on the specific parameters of conditioning

techniques (e.g., partial reinforcement schedules) and on attempting

214
to change the posttreatment environment to which the person returns

(cf. Atthowe 1973). Recently, the significance of individuals'

cognitive appraisals of their own actions has been emphasized in

cognitive-behavioral formulations of the phenomena of relapse (Marlatt

&Gordon, in press; Wilson, in press b). Elsewhere in this volume

Marlatt presents a detailed cognitive-behavioral analysis of the

relapse process and the implications this has for designing innovative and effective treatment program and maintenance strategies

for addictive disorders in general. The following comments indicate

briefly how this cognitive-behavioral model of relapse applies to

the treatment of obesity.

Consider the case of an obese individual who has been treated successfully and has lost a substantial amount of weight. At sane point

after the termination. of treatment, the person starts slipping and

begins to deviate from the strictures of the behavioral self-control

Program. At this point, Whether the person reverts to previous

patterns of overeating (and failure to exercise sufficiently), or

re-establishes control by him/herself, or re-enters treatment for

this purpose, will be influenced in part by the way in which this

person construes the violation of posttreatment adherence to a program

for control of weight gain. In other words, it may not be the slips

per se that will determine subsequent behavior but the meaning that

the person attaches to then. Marlatt and Gordon (in press) point

out that a typical negative reaction is for the person to attribute

the transgressions to What in the terminology of attribution theory

would be an internal-stable cause (Weiner 1974). In short, the

person sees in his/her failure to adhere to the requirements of the

weight control program an affirmation of his/her personal inability

to regulate weight. previous treatment success, albeit short-term,

is dismissed or discounted as insignificant. Among the adverse

sequelae of such an attribution is a sense of helplessness and the

conviction that the battle of the bulge is irretrievably lost.5

Other self-defeating cognitions involve extensive rationalization.

For example, the obese person who eats too much on occasion might

decide that since (s)he has "blown" the treatment program for that

day, why not go ahead and overindulge for the remainder of the day

and return to the treatment program tomorrow. Of course, tomorrow

often does not come.

Wilson (in press b) has suggested that the degree to which the client

Will be able to resist these negative cognitive reactions to posttreatment setbacks in adhering to a controlled behavioral routine

Will depend on treatment-induced expectations of self-efficacy. As

proposed by Bandura (1977a), efficacy expectations are the conviction

that one can cope successfully with a given sitaution. Selfefficacy theory holds that efficacy expectations will determine

whether coping behavior Will be initiated, with what effort, and

how resolute one will be in continuing to cope in the-face of the

inevitable pressures and problems that are encountered by the

individual struggling to control weight. The client who, as a result

of treatment, has strong efficacy expectations about coping with high

risk situations is more likely to overcome the potentially destructive

215
consequences of a posttreatment transgression.

Several specific treatment and maintenance strategies derive from

these cognitive-behavioral formulations of the maintenance of treatment effects. It is important to anticipate possible or probable

setbacks or transgressions during treatment, and to equip the client

With cognitive and behavioral coping strategies for negotiating such

mishaps. Ensuring that the client has the necessary interpersonal

skills as described earlier in this paper would be an important

facet of this approach. In a related fashion, Lazarus (1977) has

described how imagery techniques can be used to practice "emotional

fire-drills" for coping with anticipated difficulties or "future

shock." In addition to imaginal rehearsal of coping behaviors,

specific attention would be paid to the self-statements Which are

likely to be elicited in such a situation. The clients would be

taught to avoid thoughts of self-pity or self-blame. Instead of

using the transgression to punish themselves With in a self-defeating fashion, clients can be shown how to take a more constructive

view and learn from the experience so as to avoid a similar mistake

in the future. Meichenbaum's (1977) stress inoculation procedure

is especially useful in this regard.

CONCLUDING COMMENT

In the foregoing analysis, I have tried to indicate the form a

comprehensive cognitive-behavioral treatment program for obesity

might take consistent With what is currently known about the

modification of long-standing behavioral problems of a refractory

nature. With this in mind it is obvious that there is considerable

roan for improvement in the majority of behavioral programs that

are currently used in controlled outcome studies.

The development of more extensive and intensive treatment programs

for obesity should be pursued With appropriate professional caution

and With the realization that as yet imperfectly understood biological factors might limit the success that can be achieved through

any psychological approach. Specifically, weight control programs

should include, in addition to measures of Weight loss, concurrent

assessment of the person's moods, emotional states, and broader

behavioral activities so that any adverse side-effects might

be detected (Wilson 1978). Ultimately, it may prove to be the case

that sane forms of obesity are better suited than others for psychological treatment programs. In the meantime, it should be evident

from the analysis presented here that some of the pessimism about

the utility of a behaviorally-based treatment approach notwithstanding, the battle is far from lost.

is really just beginning.

In a fundamental sense, it

216
FOOTNOTES

1

"Most obese persons Will not stay in treatment for obesity. Of

those Who stay in treatment most will not lose weight and of those

who do lose Weight most Will regain it" (Stunkard 1958, p.79).

2

It is unlikely that nonbehavioral psychotherapies will prove to

be effective in the treatment of obesity. Although controlled

evaluations of psychotherapy for obesity are a rarity - an interesting comment in its own right - the evidence that does exist

provides little indication that this is an effective form of

treatment (cf. Leon 1976).

3Historically, in developing their treatment techniques, Stuart

and Davis (1972) were influenced by Schachter's (1971) well-known

theory that obese individuals are more responsive to external cues

and less responsive to internal cues than normal Weight individuals.

As a result, behavior modification focused almost exclusively on

external controls. Schachter's externality notion has been

criticized (e.g., Wooley & Wooley 1975). Of course, the fact that

the externality notion might be invalid does not necessarily undermine the value of treatment procedures which were once related to

it. Similarly, underlying the early Stuart and Davis (1972) treatment program was the implicit notion of a generalized distinction

between the obese and the nonobese eating style. More recent

evidence provides little unequivocal support for such a distinction

and eating style appears to be heavily influenced by situation

specific variables as one would predict from social learning theory

(Mahoney 1975).

4A post hoc analysis of the results from this study indicated

that subjects who were switched to a different therapist during

the maintenance phase fared particularly poorly compared to subjects who continued with their original therapist.

5Marlatt and Gordon (in press) refer to this as the Abstinence

Violation Effect (AVE). A related concept, specifically in connection

With overeating, is the so-called counter-regulatory effect (Polivy

1976). This latter term has been used to describe the finding that

individuals who are dieting (i.e., score highly on the Restrained

Eating Scale - see Herman and Polivy [1975]) appear to consume more

rather than less food following a specific caloric preload.

While the concept of the counter-regulatory effect might have some

merit, recent research has shown that it is not related to obesity

(Ruderman 1978).

217
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1975.

AUTHOR

G. Terence Wilson, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Graduate School of Applied and

Professional Psychology

Rutgers University

P.O. Box 819

Piscataway, New Jersey 08854

223
Chapter 15

Obesity and Adherence to

Behavioral Programs

Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D.

Thirty percent of all men and 40 percent of all women between the

ages of 40 and 49 are considered obese by the criterion of being at

least 20 percent above ideal weight (Metropolitan Life Insurance

Company 1960). The prevalence is even higher among persons in lower

socioeconomic groups (Goldblatt, Moore, and Stunkard l965), with

advancing age (Build and Blood pressure Study l959), and in a variety

of ethnic groups (Stunkard 1975). Since 1900, the prevalence of

obesity has doubled (Waxler and Leef 1969); and the Build and Blood

Pressure Study (1959) and the Health and Nutrition Survey (1976)

showed continuing weight gains in Americans in the past 27 years.

The U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1966) has

labeled obesity the number one dietary problem.

For many years, few questioned that obesity was a serious disorder.

Recently, however, skeptics have become more forceful, particularly

in public circles and in the scientific community. One lay group,

the National Association to Aid Fat Americans, maintains that some

persons may lead more fulfilling lives if they are overweight and

that society should be educated to cease discriminating against fat

people rather than advocating dieting at any cost. This movement

has gained momentum, despite mounting evidence that obesity carries

a high risk of physical and psychological problems.

Obesity is strongly associated with several established precursors

to coronary heart disease, including hypertension, increased low

density lipoproteins and decreased high density lipoprotein cholesterol, hypertriglyceridmia, increased insulin production, and impaired glucose tolerance (Kannel and Gordon 1977). There is sane

dispute as to whether obesity is a risk factor independent of its

association with other risk factors (Mann 1974), yet it seems certain that obesity is medically undesirable. Data from the Framingham Study indicate that if everyone were at optimal weight there

would be 25 percent less coronary heart disease and 35 percent

fewer episodes of congestive heart failure and cerebrovascular

accidents (Gordon and Kannel 1976). Kannel and Gordon (1977) have

gone even further, to claim that ".. .correction of overweight is

probably the most important hygienic measure (aside from avoidance

of cigarettes) available for the control of cardiovascular disease."

There have been innumerable attempts to help overweight persons

lose weight. Sane are scientifically sound; most are not. A

224
glance into almost any popular magazine reveals diets that promise

miraculous weight loss, happiness, and sexiness. Diets, pills, devices, and spiritual plans—many of which defy reason--are comercially successful. This may be testimony to how desperatemany

obese persons are to reduce, and to how little confidence they

have in scientists to help them achieve this goal. Are they right?

I will give a brief history of the treatment of obesity, concentrating on recent evidence from behavioral approaches. A new concept

for the treatment of obesity will be offered. The most promising

new treatments will be discussed, and, finally, several new directions will be explored.

HOW EFFECTIVE IS TREATMENT?

Almost 20 years ago, Stunkard (1958) issued a most pessismistic verdict: "Most obese persons will not enter treatment for obesity.

Of those who enter treatment, most will not lose weight and of those

who do lose weight, most will regain it." From 20 to 80 percent

of obese persons were found to drop out of traditional medical treatment programs, and of the few persons left, fewer than 25 percent

lost as much as 20 lb (9.1 kg); only 5 percent lost as much as

40 lb (18.2 kg)(Stunkard and McLaren-Hume 1959). To make matters

worse, emotional symptoms have been documented in at least 50 percent of persons treated for obesity by either outpatient dieting

or inpatient fasting (Stunkard and Rush 1974).

In 1967, Stuart brought new hope to this discouraging area. In a

study entitled "The Behavioral Control of Overeating," Stuart reported the results of a year-long, muiltifaceted behavioral treatment program for eight subjects. Even though Stuart's results were

from uncontrolled case studies, the weight losses were impressive

enough to spur dozens of later studies: 30 percent of Stuart's subjects lost more than 40 lb (18.2 kg) and 60 percent lost more than

30 lb (13.6 kg).

Until recently, Stuart's treatment procedures--known as the behavioral package-have remained unchallenged and have been used in

nearly every study on the behavioral treatment of obesity. In the

years since Stuart's work, there have been major advances in our

understanding of treatment techniques. The first logical step was

to determine whether Stuart's subjects would have improved without

treatment.

Harris (1969) addressed this question by assigning subjects to behavioral groups or to a no treatment control group. Subjects given behavioral treatment lost more weight than control subjects,

and even continued losing weight after treatment ended. Wollersheim (1970) then compared behavior therapy to placebo conditions

and found that behavior therapy was more effective. Harris and

Wollersheim significantly improved treatment methods, and it appeared that behavior therapy was better than other available approaches.

The effect of experimenter bias in these studies could not be ruled

out: It is possible that enthusiastic doctoral students in behavioral programs could have influenced the outcome of their studies.

225

300-345 0 - 79 - 15
A study by Penick et al. (1971) attempted to control for expermenter bias by biasing the outcome against the behavioral approach. In

this study, behavioral groups were conducted by inexperienced therapists and traditional treatment groups were conducted by therapists

with much experience. The behavioral groups did better. This study

strengthened the belief that behavior therapy was the most effective approach for obesity and suggested that this type of therapy

could be carried out by persons with little training or experience.

The possibility that the content of behavioral programs was more

important than the quality of the therapist prompted several researchers to investigate therapy without a therapist. Hagen (1974)

replicated Wollersheim's (1970) treatment program under two conditions: group treatment led by a trained clinician and a bibliotherapy condition in which subjects received a written manual via

mail, with little therapist contact. Both treatments were equally

effective and were superior to a no treatment control condition.

Similar studies by Ferstl, Jokusch, and Brengelman (l975) in Germany and by Hanson et al. (1976) in the United States also showed

that bibliotherapy was as effective as group behavior therapy.

In contrast to these three studies, Brownell, Heckerman, and Westlake (1978) found that bibliotherapy was less effective than group

therapy, although weight losses in both groups were not maintained.

This suggested that the amount of contact maybe an important variable. Fernan (1973) answered this question by comparing minimal

contact to no contact. The results showed that even minimal contact was more useful than no contact. It can tentatively be concluded, therefore, that any therapist contact is better than no contact,

that after this minimal amount, additional therapist time may be

of little use.

The next logical step was to concentrate on technique refinement.

The behavioral package was thought to be effective, so research

could focus on determining the active components of the multifaceted package or on enhancing the efficacy of any single component. Several studies, for example, evaluated the influence

of self mpnitoring (Green 1978; Romanczyk 1974; Ronanczyk et al.

1973). Others investigated self reinforcement (Mahoney 1974),

goal setting (Bandura and Simon 1977), covert sensitization

(Diament and Wilson 1975; Foreyt and Hagen 1973; Foreyt and Kennedy 1971). exercise (Harris and Hallbauer 1973; Stalonas, Johnson,

and Christ 1978), and so forth. The result has been a great improvement in treatment outcaome research, but little improvement in treating efficacy. Indeed, no studies have even approached Stuart's (1967)

impressive results. How effective, then, is behavior therapy for

obesity?

Jeffery, Wing, and Stunkard (1978) reviewed the results from 21

studies of behavioral treatment procedures and found an average

weight loss of 11.5 lb (5.2 kg). The same authors reported the

results for 125 patients from the Stanford Eating Disorders Clinic; average weight loss was 11.04 lb (5 kg). Brownell, Heckerman

and Westlake (1976) studied 98 subjects in a behavioral weight loss

program and found an average weight loss of 11.01 lb (5 kg).

226
The consistency of weight losses is striking considering that the

studies differed widely in length of treatment, therapist training,

patient characteristics, treatment fees, and a variety of program

variables. We can predict with great certainty how much weight the

average subject will lose in a behavioral treatment program; the

ability of subjects to maintain their weight losses is another

question.

The typical treatment outcome study provides followup data for 6 to

8 weeks. Even for such short followup periods, maintenance of weight

losses has been conspicuously lacking. In a recent review of long

term studies, Stunkard and Penick (in press) found that maintenance

of weight loss has been exceedingly rare. There have been surprisingly few attempts to study the maintenance problem. The exception

is a series of studies on booster sessions by Wilson and colleagues

(Ashby and Wilson 1977; Kingsley and Wilson 1977; Wilson and Brownell in press). Since treatment-produced weight losses usually dissipate when sessions end, and since Stuart had achieved good results

from continued contact with his patients over a 1-year period,

booster sessions after treatment held the promise for enhancing

maintenance. Unfortunately, the studies found that booster sessions

were not effective in maintaining weight loss for subjects receiving group behavioral treatment, although booster sessions did seen

to be effective for subjects in individual treatment.

Behavioral treatments are more effective at producing initial weight

loss than are other treatments to which they have been compared,

although the clinical significance of the weight losses can be

questioned. The maintenance of weight loss on a long term basis is an

elusive goal, and few treatment strategies have been effective for approaching it. It would appear, therefore, that maintenance of treatment-produced behavior changes is presently an area of great importance.

However, increasing initial weight loss is also important if we wish to

aid any but the most modestly obese.

Progress in approaching obesity and other health behavior changes

requires a different conceptual viewpoint; this new conceptual

scheme may prompt the use of behavioral procedures for a critical

problem-program adherence.

OBESITY AS AN ADHERENCE PROBLEM

Most professionals approach weight loss by instructing the obese

in what to eat. Health care professionals, in cases where they offer anything more than exhortation, typically give the obese a

structured meal plan along with instructions to "quit eating too

much." The most successful popular diet books are those that promise rapid weight loss by altering the type of foods to be eaten.

In contrast, behavioral programs have focused on how to eat. An

individual is to control weight by controlling the environmental

events that precipitate overeating. Eating patterns are to change

as patients are instructed to slow the rate of eating, alter the

stimulus environment so food is not available, reward new eating

habits, increaseenergy expenditure, and monitor eating behaviors

227
as well as food intake. Very little mention is made of food, although about a 1200-calorie diet is usually nested in these programs.

The research that has resulted from this approach has focusedon

the development of techniques designed to alter eating behaviors

(for example, whether to monitor food intake before or after a meal).

The relative efficacy of behavioral programs suggests that conceptualizing eating disorders in this fashion is worthwhile. Yet,

weight losses have been consistent in behavioral studies and have

not been clinically significant. In addition, long ten weight loss

is very unusual. A new conceptual approach may be useful.

Perhaps the major question should change from what behaviors to prescribe to how to adhere to prescribed behaviors. The basic prescription for weight loss is simple—eat less and exercise more. The

behavioral techniques may be helpful at encouraging these behaviors

for a short time, but the almost universal relapse that occurs within the first year after treatment suggests that more needs to be

done. In retrospect, it is easy to see that people with a lifelong

history of overeating cannot achieve long term weight loss with a

10- or 12-week program that proposes new eating behaviors. The

high attrition rates in cost studies show that patients have difficulty staying with any program long enough to attain ideal weight.

I suggest that the principles of behavior be applied to the issue

of adherence--how well people comply with prescribed behaviors in

existing programs.

In the past several years, new methods for behavioral treatment

have yielded very encouraging findings. These have been presented

in detail in a recent review (Stunkard and Brownell, in press).

However, the approaches with the greatest promise and greatest

likelihood of influencing program adherence have involved intervention into the social environment. Interventions of this sort may also be relevant to other substance abuse areas.

MODIFYING THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT

For most people who engage in unhealthy life style practices (for

example, overeating and smoking), there is a social environment

that supports--if not directly encourages-these dangerous behaviors.

Social environment can have a powerful impact. on behavior, and

structuring these forces may be one method of encouraging adherence

to behavior change programs. Three such environments are provided

by the home, the work site, and the community.

Family Intervention

Eating is a social event for most people, and the family may be the

source of many social interactions involving food. Someone in the

family must purchase, prepare, and serve the meals. The family is

a natural source of social influence. Several researchers have

studied the importance of this effect on eating.

228
Stuart (reported in Stuart and Davis 1972) tape recorded and scored

mealtime interactions between 14 overweight women and their husbands.

They found that: 1) husbands were seven times more likely than their

weight-reducing wives to initiate food-relevant topics of conversation; 2) husbands were almost four times as likely as their wives

to proffer food to the spouse; 3) wives were slightly over twice

as likely as their husbands to reject food offers; and 4) husbands

were over 12 times as likely to offer criticism of their wives'

eating behavior as they were to praise it. Stuart and Davis (1972,

pp. 19-20) maintain that sane spouses, "...are not only not contributors to their wives' efforts to lose weight, but they may actually

exert a negative influence."

Mahoney and Mahoney (1976) evaluated "social support engineering'

as one component of a treatment program for obese subjects. A social

support index was calculated based on attendance and therapists' reports of family cooperation. The correlations between the social

support index and treatment outcome were 0.92 at posttreatment,

0.33 at 6 months, 0.34 at 1 year, and 0.63 at 2 years. Although

the involvement of family members had been touted as a facilitative factor in weight control (Mahoney and Mahoney 1976; O'Leary

and Wilson 1975; Stuart and Davis 1972), no direct studies of family intervention had been done.

In the first study to systematically manipulate and evaluate the

influence of family intervention, Wilson and Brownell (in press)

assigned obese subjects to either family-member-present or familymember-absent conditions. In the family-member-absent groups, subjects received the standard behavioral program described by Stuart

and Davis (1972). In the family-member-present condition, subjects

received the same program but were also required to attend all

sessions with a family member in order to: 1) acquaint family members with the principles of behavioral weight control treatments;

2) instruct them to cease criticizing their partners' weight and

eating behaviors; 3) teach them to reinforce improved eating habits; and 4) instruct them to assist their partners' attempts to

restructure the conditions and consequences of eating. After an

S-week treatment phase and a B-month followup, there were no differences in the amount of weight lost between persons assigned to

the two conditions. The authors concluded that the failure of the

family intervention may have resulted from a lack of structure for

the family members' behavior, and from the fact that son-e of the

family members were not exerting a powerful enough social influence (Some were sisters, daughters, and so forth).

A subsequent study by Brownell et al. (in press) evaluated the involvement of spouses in the treatment process. In this program,

the couple rather than the individual was the focus of treatment.

Subjects and spouses were instructed in a variety of behavioral

techniques including mutual monitoring of food-related behaviors,

stimulus control, modeling, and reinforcement. For each part of

the patients' program there was a corresponding part for the

spouses, who participated fully in each training session. Subjects

were given a manual that described a 10-week sequence of behavioral

techniques, and spouses were given their own manual to underscore

the need for behavior change from both subjects and spouses. The

229
spouses were taught to model appropriate eating behaviors such as

slowing the rate of eating and eating in particular locations to

"set a good example." Similarly, they were instructed in stimulus

control so that they would avoid exposing the subjects to food cues,

and were encouraged to engage the subject during times of temptation in activities incompatible with eating. Each partner monitored the other partner's behavior as well as his or her own. The program stressed that mutual effort was critical to success.

The couples condition was compared with two other treatments in

which subjects received essentially the same program, except as individuals rather than as couples. In one condition, subjects had

spouses deemed "cooperative," as defined by their willingness to

take part in the program. In the other condition, subjects had

spouses deemed "uncooperative" as defined by their unwillingness

to take part in treatment even though the subjects had been told

treatment would not be available if the spouse did not participate.

Subjects in these two conditions attended meetings alone. Treatment occurred once weekly for 10 weeks, followed by monthly followup meetings for 6 months.

Persons in all groups lost weight. At the end of the 10-week

treatment program, mean weight losses were 20 lb (9.1 kg) for the

couples training subjects, 15 lb (6.8 kg) for the "cooperative

spouse-subject alone" condition, and 12 lb (5.5 kg) for the "noncooperative spouse-subject alone" condition. These differences

did not reach statistical significance, but at the 6-month followup, mean weight loss for the couples group had reached 30 lb (13.6 kg)

which was significantly greater than the mean losses for the individual patient groups—19 and 15 lb (8.6 and 6.8 kg) each.

The results from the Brownell et al. (in press) study with couples

are noteworthy for several reasons. First, weight losses in the

couples condition were nearly triple the very consistent losses

found in most behavioral studies. Second, for the subjects treated

with spouses, nearly one-third of their total weight loss occurred

after weekly treatment sessions had ended. Indeed, differences between the couples conditions and the other two conditions did not

reach significance until the followup phase. It appears, therefore,

that spouse intervention may enhance initial weight loss and may

facilitate long term maintenance. However, this study was based

on data from only 29 subjects, and a 6-month followup is not sufficient to determine long term maintenance. This study is being replicated by the author with a larger sample and a longer followup.

Work Site Intervention

A second forum for mobilizing social influence is the work site.

Millions of people spend much of their day at a place of employment.

Patterns of interaction develop among workers and between employees

and employers. This naturally occurring social system has many

advantages as a means for health behavior changes. Time away from

work is kept to a minimum--an hour each week for 20 weeks may be

sufficient for many life style change programs. The work site can

provide space and clerical staff to support a program. The employer and fellow employees of an individual can exert strong sanctions

230
for attendance--a luxury not available in most leisure-time programs. The increased morale that may develop from cooperation

or competition between groups at the work site may increase treatment efficacy. Such a program is a worthy investment for any industry that pays the health care costs for its employees. Health

improvement can easily repay the costs of such programs through decreased absenteeism, improved work performance, decreased hospitalization, and through more intangible factors like improved morale

(stunkard, in press).

A work site intervention program for the treatment of hypertension

has shown the value of this approach. In this program, mm-hers of

the United Store Workers Union in New York City took part in a hypertension control program at the Gimbels and Bloomingdales stores

(Alderman 1976; Alderman and Schoenbaum 1975). Before the program,

less than half of the hypertensive union members had achieved blood

pressure control, and those who subsequently refused entry into the

program continued at about this level of control. When the program began, blood pressure screening was done at the stores by

nurse practitioners. Hypertensive persons were then seen by a physician and medication was prescribed, if necessary. Periodic meetings were scheduled and members were encouraged to attend through

postcard reminders and calls from a union employee. Participants

carried cards that showed their blood pressures and were awarded a

certificate when blood pressure control was achieved. This work

site program resulted in blood pressure control in SO percent of

the participants and radically reduced days of hospitalization for

cardiovascular disease.

This program stands in contrast to another work site program conducted in Canada for hypertensive foundry workers (Sackett et al.

1975). Participants were offered blood pressure treatment and

screening but were not part of the same social influence system as

outlined above. The espirit de corps engendered by the union support was lacking, and there were no rewards for adherence to the

scheduled meetings. Blood pressure control occurred in 50 percent

of the foundry workers.

It appears, therefore, that the work site is an ideal location for

a weight reduction program, or for other programs that encourage

health behavior changes (for example, smoking reduction). However,

the manner in which the program is administered can be a critical

factor. Social influence factors that operate at a work site can

be quite Powerful, and a program must be designed to take full advantage of these factors.

In collaboration with Dr. Albert J. Stunkard, I am conducting a work

site intervention program for weight reduction at the United Store

Workers Union. A pilot program has been completed at one Gimbels

store and has yielded promising results. We are experimenting with

training union members to serve as group leaders and with holding

sessions at different times of day and at different intervals.

The Community as A Social System

The community-itself is another naturally occurring social system

with unique patterns of interaction among its members. Until

231
recently, it was thought that to allow for experimental control

in a study of health interventions, members of a community should

be randomized among treatment conditions. This, however, may dissipate the very social influence that could make a community intervention effective. It may be more fruitful to use entire communities as experimental groups and randomize interventions among communities (Stunkard, in press). The Stanford Heart Disease Prevention Program is an example of this (Farquhar et al. 1977).

In the Stanford program, large-scale interventions were used to reduce cardiovascular risk factors (Farquhar et al. 1977; Maccoby et

al. 1977). An intensive and sophisticated 2-year campaign in this

three-community study included 3 hours of television programs; 50

television snots; 100 radio spots; several hours of radio programming; weekly newspaper columns; newspaper stories and advertisements; posters used in buses, stores, and worksites; and printed

materials mailed directly to participants. Three communities in

northern California were used. The population of each was about

14,000. One town received the media campaign, and another served

as a control and received no campaign. In the third community, the

media campaign was supplemented by a face-to-face behavioral instruction program directed at t-thirds of the participants identified

as being in the upper 25 percent of those at risk for coronary heart

disease.

The results were most promising. After the second year of the

campaign, the risk of coronary heart disease had decreased by 17 percent in the treatment communities, whereas the risk had increased

6 percent in the control community. In the treatment communities,

there were reductions in cholesterol levels, smoking, and blood

pressure. It is interesting that the media campaign and the faceto-face instruction had significant effects on all variables except

relative weight. It is possible that more structured and intensive

interventions are needed to supplement a media campaign if weight

reduction is to occur.

The Stanford three-community study is informative for several reasons. First, it shows that media campaigns designed to reach large

numbers of persons can be effective at changing some health-related

behaviors. The long term maintenance of these changes has yet to be

studied, but initial change is possible. Second, the media campaign may be effective in prompting people who need additional instruction to seek such assistance. Third, it may be possible to

utilize the social pressures of a community and still maintain experimental control by testing an intervention on an entire community and using another community as a control. Fourth, specific behavioral instruction may be necessary for a health education program to be effective--disease information may not be sufficient.

CONCLUSIONS

Obesity may serve as a useful focal point for discussions of substance abuse, including smoking, alcoholism, and drug abuse. Decause the dependent variable, weight, is so easily measured, obesity

has served as a proving ground for countless behavioral and nonbehav232
ioral strategies. The result has been a dramatic increase in our knowledge of the principles of behavior in general, and in our ability to

treat-the obese in particular.

Behavioral interventions have been reasonably effective at producing

short term weight change. Controlled research has shown that behavior therapy is more effective than any treatment approach to which

it has been compared. Early studies failed to include long term followup, and therefore them were enthusiastic claims of the potency

of behavior therapy for the obese. As the long term results become

available, it appears that permanent Wright control is something of

a wish rather than a reality. Relapse, which plagues all areas of

substance abuse, is a particular problem for the obese, because repeated weight loss followed by weight gain may be more dangerous

than static obesity. Research on animals and humans has shown that

repeated episodes of dieting can be associated with cardiovascular

problems and psychological distress (Brownell 1978).

The lack of long term efficacy is not cause to abandon the behavioral

approach. Initial behavior change and the maintenance of that change

may be governed by different processes (Bandura 1969; Kazdin and

Wilson 1978). Behavior therapy studies for the most part have focused on initial behavior change, and have been relatively successful. It is time for more research into the critical issue of maintenance. More specifically, why do so many people drop out of treatment, and of those who remain in treatment, why do so few adhere to

program directives?

Conceptualizing the treatment of obesity as an adherence problem

may lead to new ideas for research. Behavioral principles have

been used almost exclusively for the modification of eating behaviors.

Little effort has been devoted to testing methods of improving adherence to these eating behavior regimens. Implementing strong

monetary contracts for caloric restriction or weight loss may be

effective (Jeffery, Thompson, and Wing 1977). Altering the schedule of treatment meetings may also be useful: The most frequent

contact could occur during the difficult maintenance period, rather

than at the outset of a treatment program, when most people are

strongly motivated. But the most promising approach to date is

the modification of the social environment.

For any person, there are a number of naturally occurring social

environments that can exert a powerful influence on behavior. The

three major social environments am the home, work site, and community. Studies in each of the areas have been very encouraging,

although the data are preliminary at best. Intervening in the social

environment allows mobilization of social forces that may be much

more powerful than the impact of treatment sessions scheduled once

each week. This pervasive influence may lead to improved adherence

to prescribed behaviors because of important sources of reinforcement that are available many times each day, and because of an increase in the number of discriminative stimuli that prompt appropriate behaviors.

233
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AUTHOR

Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D.

Department of Psychiatry

University of Pennsylvania

205 Piersol Building

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

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Chapter 16

Obesity Treatment Reexamined:

The Case for a More Tentative and

Experimental Approach

Susan C. Wooley, Ph.D., Orland W. Wooley, Ph.D., and Susan

R. Dyrenforth

MODELS OF OBESITY

Behavioral treatment of obesity began in a climate very favorable to its

rapid growth. Previous conceptualizations of obesity had stressed the

primacy of emotional needs as causes of overeating and weight gain, a

point of view which led to indirect forms of treatment aimed at resolution of psychological problems. The failure of traditional psychotherapy to produce significant or lasting weight loss was taken rightfully

to mean that new methods of treatment were required. It was also taken, with somewhat less justification, as evidence that the etiologic concepts on which these treatments were based were incorrect. Direct attempts

to modify habitual diet, usually consisting of such simple procedures as

counseling patients in nutrition or prescribing fixed-calorie diets,

had also failed. This result came as no surprise to those who had begun to appreciate the difficulties of changing habitual behaviors.

The application of principles of learning to the task at hand followed

logically enough.

Implicit in early behavioral interventions were the assumptions that

obesity was caused by overeating and that overeating was to a significant

extent a function of social learning. The tasks of treatment were to

provide reinforcement for food abstention as strong as the intrinsic rewards of eating itself and to mitigate the effects of discriminative

stimuli on eating either by eliminating food cues from the environment

or by restricting eating to well-defined situations so that the range

of discriminative stimuli would be narrowed. Some treatment forms,

such as aversive conditioning, sought to directly lessen the reinforcing properties of foods. Later refinements of treatment involved modification of specific aspects of eating behavior such as bite size, rate,

and composition, size, and timing of meals and snacks on the assumption that these behaviors bore a relationship to total food consumption. On the whole, application of these techniques has led to modest

weight losses, averaging less than ten pounds according to a recent

review of 42 behavioral studies (Wing and Jeffery 1978), withbetter

than average maintenance in those instances in which followup has been

conducted (e.g., see Leon 1976). Incremental increases in efficacy

achieved through additional refinements of technique have usually been

quite small.

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Unfortunately, the assumptions which have guided treatment development

must now be regarded as subject to very serious question. The results

of more than 20 studies have shown that on the whole the obese eat no

more than the lean (see Garrow 1974 for review of 13 studies; Thomson, Billewicz, and Passmore 1961; Hejda and Fabry 1964; Hampton,

et al. 1967; Hanley 1969; Kissileff, Jordan, and Levitz 1978;

Wooley, Tennenbaum, and Wooley, in press; Coll, Meyer, and Stunkard,

in press). Although methodological criticisms may be made of each

study individually, the combined data, collected by a wide variety of

techniques, are undeniabley compelling. Similarly, attempts to correlate particular aspects of eating behavior with obesity - to discover

an “obese eating style” - have not, on the whole, produced any replicable difference (Kissileff, et al. 1978; Coll, et al. in press; Meyer,

Stunkard, and Coll 1977).

One apparent way out of this paradox is to suggest that during weight

maintenance, the obese have essentially normal intake and eating habits,

the added caloric requirements to maintain their greater body mass being offset by the somewhat lessened activity level which appears to accompany obesity. The data from obese individuals on weight reducing

diets would tend to pull the group average down, while overeating by

others coming off diets would tend to pull it up, resulting in the

net finding of no obese-normal differences.

Such a hypothesis receives some support from the many studies of weight

regulation in animals which show that animals will overeat in order to

defend a body weight which has been experimentally lowered. This phenomenon can be observed in normal rats, rats with Ventral-Medial Hypothalamus and Lateral Hypothalamus lesions, genetically obese strains,

and in rats who reach a higher weight equilibrium in response to a more

palatable diet (e.g., see Keesey et al. 1976; Powley 1977; Stricker 1978).

However, more recent evidence demonstrates that defense of body weight

does not depend on overeating, although this is one mechanism by which

it may occur. In a dramatic demonstration, Boyle, Storlien, and Keesey

(1978) found that rats brought to 80% of initial weight’, gain 18 times

as much weight as control rats on slightly less food (the quantity adjusted for the reduction in body mass). Numerous other studies have

documented decreases in basal metabolic rate of 20-40% in rats and humans on restricted intake, and hyperlipogenesis, that is excess production of fat tissue, during refeeding (Apfelbaum, Bostsarron and Lacatis,

1971; Drenick and Dennin 1973; Buskirk, et al. 1963; Bray 1969; Garrow 1974; Howard, et al. 1978; Keys, et al. 1950; Klieber 1961).

Following starvation and refeeding, even if body weight is held at a normal level-that is, does not overshoot the initial baseline-body composition will be altered with a considerably higher percent of fat tissue (Keys, et al. 1950, Szepesi 1978; Tepperman and Tepperman 1964).

The many studies of overfeeding of lean volunteers have shown that

weight gain frequently falls far short of that predicted, and following

forced feeding, weight returns rapidly and spontaneously to baseline

levels (Ashworth, et al. 1962; Mann, et al. 1955; Sims and Horton 1968;

Miller and Mumford 1967; Miller, Mumford, and Stock 1967). In short,

overeating alone is not sufficient to produce lasting obesity. There

is further evidence that thermogenesis, the waste of calories during

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overfeeding, is decreased in the obese and after a period of underfeeding (Passmore, et al. 1963; Passmore, et al. 1955; Boyle, et al. 1978).

The implications of these findings challenge the logic of most forms of

treatment. First, they suggest that reduction of food intake can be

offset by changes in metabolic efficiency, so that after a period of

time no further weight is lost. Second, they suggest that weight regain may occur in the absence of overeating or even on subnormal intakes.

Finally, they suggest that dieting may possibly alter the response to

food excesses in such a way as to produce a lasting propensity to obesity not experienced by those who have never dieted and who may overeat

with relative impunity. These findings not only explain many of the

phenomena which have been attributed to set points for weight in obese

humans but explain how, in humans, set point may drift upward over time

in response to alternating cycles of undereating and overeating.

Obviously the verdict implied herein is not absolute. Some people do

lose large amounts of weight. Some maintain losses permanently. Perhaps they do it at the cost of chronic hunger, but this is not proven,

and clinical experience suggests that it is not always the case. The

point is not that dieting has been shown to be futile but that it is

fraught with problems not anticipated by a learning model, and there is

a great deal which we do not know about the prospects and requisite conditions for lasting weight loss.

TREATMENT DILEMMAS

Intelligent planning of treatment encounters several dilemmas. (1)

On the one hand, moderate restriction of calories is not likely to lead

to sustained weight loss; on the other hand, more severe restriction is

apt to lead to more rapid regain and possibly to other detrimental

changes in food utilization. It is possible that sharply limiting periods of restriction. to no more than two consecutive days, for example,

might prevent or lessen compensatory metabolic changes. Such strategies should be tested.

(2) Studies of deprived animals and humans demonstrate, somewhat

counterintuitively, that hunger is greater the more food is eaten, if

the intake is below that required for weight maintenance. This phenomenon refers to periods of extended restriction and, in that context,

loss of appetite may be seen as a defensive response associated with

conservation of energy and inhibition of food--searching activity. This

interpretation is strengthened by the finding that unpredictability of

food availability seems to maintain hunger drive, whereas predictability can result in inhibition of appetite during periods in which

food unavailability is clearly signalled. Konorski (1967), for example,

notes that “a voracious animal who displays a strong motor excitement

during the intertrial intervals . . . momentarily calms down when . . .

the no-food (stimulus) is presented” (p. 325). (See Wooley, Wooley,

and Dyrenforth, in press, for review of data on these questions.)

Thus, on the whole, extreme regimens in which the patient has no

chance of access to food are apt to be well tolerated, but are inconsistent with the aims of learning new eating habits and achieving selfcontrol which are fundamental to current behavioral treatments.

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(3) Behavioral programs have generally included the goals of reducing

responsiveness to food cues through stimulus control procedures and

increasing sensitivity to internal regulatory signals. This dual concept of extrasensitivity to environmental stimuli and insensitivity to

internal cues is, of course, the Schachterian (1968) model of obesity.

Controls on the effects of external stimuli have been more systematically incorporated into behavioral treatments than training to

respond to internal signals, which is generally regarded (if considered

at all) as something which will rather mysteriously develop on its own

as treatment progresses and other causes of eating are eliminated. Some

techniques appear to actively oppose this process as, for example? the

suggestion that when the patient feels hunger he should delay eating

or do something else.

This may all be rather academic, however, for it appears that neither

the goal of decreased externality or improved sensitivity to calories

is likely to be achieved in the context of a weight reduction program;

Animal studies have demonstrated that deprivation increases sensitivity to palatability and caloric density. Also, following deprivation, intake is greatly enhanced by increased length of access (exposure) to food (Booth 1972; Jacobs and Sharma 1969; Collier, Hirsch,

and Kanarek 1977). Our own studies of sensitivity to calories as reflected in salivary responses to food following preloads of varying

caloric density suggest that chronic dieters lose the sensitivity to

calories displayed by unrestrained eaters, independent of weight

(Wooley, Wooley, and Williams 1978). Thus, to the extent that there

is evidence for either of the phenomena described by Schachter (1968),

it appears to be an accompaniment and a consequence of dieting. Interventions designed to promote regulatory eating would be more logically carried out during weight maintenance, a conclusion which could

also be reached more simply by noting that dieting, by definition, is

not regulatory eating.

DIMENSIONS OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCE

If generalities about hunger and weight regulation fail to point

clearly to rational modes of treatment, consideration of individual

differences may prove helpful from both a theoretical and practical

standpoint. Appropriate avenues of intervention may have eluded us because we have looked only for patterns characteristic of obesity in

general and have not sought to isolate sub-syndromes.

An example of this problem is found in the studies of eating styles

in which obese and normal samples have been compared, with little result. Since the obese do not, as a group, consume more food than the

lean, this experimental design cannot detect predictors of high consumption rates, nor can it detect particular constellations of behaviors,

such as those characteristic of uses of food to control mood states or

patterns specific to particular phases of obesity. For example, the

data on meal frequency and obesity have been very inconsistent, but

studies which have reported infrequent meals in the obese tend to be

those which have been conducted on samples of older people who are not

patients, suggesting that this may be a terminal adaptation to obesity

(Fabry, et al. 1964; Hejda and Fabry 1964). In contrast, binge eating seems to be most frequent among young people still very concerned

with dieting (Herman and Mack 1975).

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300-345 0 - 79 - 16
From the standpoint of improving prediction of outcome and facilitating

selection of treatment strategy, several dimensions of individual variability appear to be particularly relevant.

The first of these is ease of weight loss. This can be estimated

from careful history taking or discovered by a trial period during treatment. There is reason to believe that patients who maintain their weight

on the lowest calorie intakes will require the most drastic restrictions

to lose and will regain on the fewest calories. Martineaud and Tremoliere (see Garrow 1974) found that obese patients with the lowest initial resting metabolic rates showed the biggest decreases in metabolic

rate when dieting.

A second important dimension is the degree of hunger experienced on

caloric restriction. Despite the generalizations which can be drawn

from animal studies on deprivation and hunger, in practice there is

considerable variability among patients. Some report constant gnawing

hunger on diets or fasts, while others report rarely having sensations

they label as hunger. Stricker (1978) has suggested a distinction between primary obesity, in which metabolic abnormalities produce intense

hunger in those below a given weight, and primary hyperphagia, in which

overeating is a response to variables other than hunger but leads to

obesity. In the former group, he suggests that hyperlipogenesis removes nutrients from the system so rapidly after eating that satiety

cannot occur. This situation is corrected when fat stores are sufficiently repleted (see also Powley 1977). By this view, hunger induced

by dieting is a negative prognostic indicator both because it makes control of food intake extraordinarily difficult and because it signals

the operation of a set point mechanism involving a metabolic bias toward fat storage. Even if intake can be limited, other adaptations may

restore the person to the obese state.

A third dimension is the use of food in the management of subjective

states other than hunger a satiety. Stricker (1978) proposed that primary hyperphagia might consist of two separable syndromes in which food

is used to decrease or increase arousal level. This suggestion is in

keeping with recent findings emphasizing the interrelationship of neural

activation of feeding and other behaviors.

The paradoxical suggestion that food may be used both to increase

and to lower arousal is, in fact, quite plausible since sensory properties of food have an energizing effect on behavior, while satiety

is associated with quiescence. Thus, the frequent ingestion of small

snacks may heighten arousal while consumption of a large meal may reduce it. Conditioning may also play an important role. Thus, if food

consumption has habitually been paired with relaxation, it may come to

have a conditioned property of tension relief. Patterns may be idiosyncratic. Thus, for example, one person may eat to reduce arousal

shortly after being placed in a stressful condition. while another may

use food to speed relaxation once the stress is terminated. It is additionally possible that the same person uses food for both stimulating

and sedative effects under differing conditions by adjusting dose, frequency, and setting variables. However, it probably makes sense to proceed first on the simpler notion that a particular pattern will predominate, reflecting a relative consistency of temperament and/or the nature of the person’s environment.

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Assessments on this dimension may be particularly helpful in selecting

treatments. For patients who eat for stimulation, alternative sources

of excitement may be sought. The removal of food cues from the environment could be quite helpful. For those high on arousal, alternate

methods of tension release might be sought. Treatment strategies based

on these concepts may be useful in prevention or early reversal of eating patterns which will lead to obesity, even if they do less for those

in whom innate or acquired physiological characteristics oppose weight

loss. It is also in this aspect of feeding that the applicability

of an addiction model makes most sense.

It is interesting to note that since, unlike other abuse substances,

food is a necessity, its nonuse may sometimes constitute abuse. Selfstarvation, especially when accompanied by ketosis, produces marked psychological changes described by some patients as euphoria. The effects

of not eating deserve consideration not only in the syndromes of anorexia and intermittent starvation and binge eating, but also in such patterns as meal skipping or night eating in which all or part of the day

is spent fasting. It has been our clinical experience that binge and

night eating are relatively easily understood as responses to extreme

hunger. The behavior most resistant to change is the refusal to eat

between binges, a pattern patients usually explain on the basis of

fear of weight gain, but which is accompanied by a sense of control and

often by a feeling of energization. It is doubtful that such patterns

would evolve except in the context of strong social pressures to reduce,

but the factors which maintain them may be more elaborate than the initial causes.

SELF-ESTEEM AND FAILURE

In behavioral as well as other forms of treatment there is typically an implicit or explicit message that if the obese patient will

learn to eat like other people he or she will be cured. Clearly this

is often not true. Many patients who comply will fail to lose weight

and will blame themselves. As the feminist writer Aldebaran (1977)

put it, “The....failure of reducing diets is fat people’s collective

experience and therapy tells us to ignore it.

you can lose weight.”

If you try hard enough,

The fact of therapeutic failure deserves special consideration, for

it compounds the already severe problems of self-esteem experienced by

most overweight people. Intense prejudice against obese children, adolescents, and adults has been extremely well documented. Obesity is the

most stigmatized physical feature except skin color, but unlike skin

color is thought to be due to personal failings. The catalogue of negative traits attributed to the overweight is astonishing, and it is a

mistake to suppose that this is not acutely sensed by obese people although, due to their highly precarious status, they are apt to endorse

or even believe dominant cultural values and to be reluctant to express

their feelings. (For review of these findings see Wooley, Wooley, and

Dyrenforth, in preparation.)

To ignore these issues is to ignore important needs of obese patients. From this viewpoint treatments which increase shame, for example, by having patients rehearse the ideas that fat is ugly and thinness attractive, seem harmful. Caution is clearly required in use of

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techniques which call negative attention to obese people and their eating

habits, for example, by involving others in monitoring their behavior or

in employing obtrusive techniques or mechanical devices. Behavioral

treatment could be employed to combat these problems by developing techniques for improving body image? increasing assertiveness, encouraging

socialization, and teaching patients to discourage others from belittling them or discriminating against them.

The devastating effects of repeated failure underscore the need to

discover early predictors of success, to help patients view their situation objectively and to provide support for patients who choose not

to continue at weight loss or who fail in their efforts.

TREATMENT STRATEGIES

In view of the many problems and uncertainties associated with treatment of obesity, we have adopted a plan which allows considerable

flexibility and which we believe provides a useful interim model. The

features of this program are presented not as final or even particularly

satisfactory solutions, but rather ones we feel serve patients reasonably well in the absence of widely applicable techniques of proven

usefulness.

During screening interviews the patient’s history is analyzed with a

view toward assessing the difficulty of past weight loss and maintenance and the current reasons for attempting weight loss, including

health problems, social dysfunction, and external pressures. From the

first contact, we share with patients information on the problems associated with dieting in order to relieve shame and self-blame over

past failure and to engage them in a process of realistic planning. The

aim of treatment is presented as helping each patient learn to maintain,

without undue effort, a body weight at which he or she can be comfortable. Successful completion of the program may or may not involve

weight loss. We expressly avoid placing any intrinsic value on slenderness but instead consider how it may (or may not) relate to attainment

of other goals. Under this model no particular distinction needs to

be made between obese patients, anorexics, binge eaters or any other

disorders of body weight or food regulation. In fact, there seem to

be some benefits in composing treatment groups consisting of three to

five patients of individuals with varied problems.

The first phase of treatment involves collection of data on spontaneous

eating patterns. Records, based on the Jordan-Levitz manual, require

the listing of foods eaten, time, duration, place, mood, hunger level

and activities associated with eating. We have added to this information a pleasure rating for each feeding (meal or snack). Patients

are engaged with the therapist and other group members in the task of

constructing idiographic theories of their own eating behavior.

Questions to be answered during this phase include (1) To what extent

is eating in response to experienced hunger?

vary as a function of inter-meal intervals,

(2) How does hunger

ner in which foods are eaten (e.g.,

composition of diet, and manrate, setting conditions, palatability)? (3) What factors are associated with initiation of eating in

the absence of hunger and perpetuation of eating past satiety?

can extraneous causes of eating be minimized?

(4) How

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The first goal of treatment is maintaining entering body weight.

There are several reasons for this.(l) In the case of obese patients,

it is clearly an easier task than weight loss and is therefore a more

suitable initial goal. (2) Unless a patient can learn a workable system of weight maintenance, weight reduction would seem to be contraindicated. (3) More can be learned about natural patterns of hunger, appetite, and nonnutritive uses of food under the more physiologically normal and stable conditions of energy equilibrium. (4)

The period of maintenance provides patients with time and information to begin setting realistic goals for themselves. Determination

of maintenance requirements permits some estimate of the reductions

which will be required to sustain weight loss and to maintain lower

weight. A period of weight stability and objective study of eating

habits tend to lessen the sense of desperation felt by many patients

who are then able to consider what, exactly, are the anticipated benefits of weight loss in relation to the anticipated personal cost.

The period devoted to learning weight maintenance skills may take

as little as four weeks, but is continued as long as required. During this time, brief experiments are conducted to discover the patterning and mode of eating which results in the least hunger, the most

pleasure, and weight stability. There is tremendous variability in the

solutions devised by patients, perhaps the only relatively common feature being the establishment of predictable eating times.

Upon completion of maintenance training, patients must decide whether

to undertake a weight loss trial. From the first, some discussion

is devoted each meeting to personal and social issues relating to

this decision. Self-esteem, body image, and social acceptance are

topics so central to every patient’s concerns that in an atmosphere

encouraging a long range view, they require little elicitation; on

the contrary, they can scarely be avoided. It has been our experience that most, though not all, patients decide to try losing weight

but with a relatively novel attitudinal set: failure is possible and

must not be defined as a disaster; great patience may be required; the

decision must be periodically reevaluated.

Weight loss strategies are a logical extension of maintenance training.

An effort is made to discover the smallest reduction in calories which

will result. in loss, usually at the rate of half to one pound per week.

If weight equilibrates at the new calorie level, patients must decide

whether to make a further cut, increase their activity level, or return to maintenance eating for a while in the hopes of reestablishing

the baseline maintenance requirements.

Strategies for reducing food intake include, but are not limited to,

the many interventions included in other behavioral treatment programs.

They are selected by patient and therapist on an individual basis.

There is no standard set of lessons. We have found it helpful to give

more attention than is ordinarily paid to details of the diet which affect hunger and satisfaction. Thus, foods high in sugar are eliminated

by some patients if they find that they stimulate hunger, and increases

in protein intake before or during meals is tested for its efficacy in

modulating hunger. Considerable attention is given to optimal meal

spacing. For whatever reasons, increasing the pleasure of eating seems

to make diets better tolerated. This may involve legitimizing intake

245
of highly preferred foods usually omitted from diets, working to reduce

guilt over eating, and improving the setting conditions of eating.

The alternative to maximizing pleasure seems to be to perpetuate a

sense of deprivation which, as often as not, leads to diet breaking.

For some patients weight loss proceeds relatively easily; for others it

is extremely difficult. There is no time limit on the therapeutic contract and multiple options are ‘left open. Thus, for some patients in

whom massive obesity represents an insurmountable problem, brief periods

of fasting may be included in later phases of treatments. For patients

ready, but without psychological supports, to try to continue attempts

at dieting and to stabilize at some degree of overweight, family therapy may be offered as an adjunctive treatment.

Obviously, it becomes quite difficult to quantify success in a program of

this type, since a variety of outcomes are considered acceptable. We are

in the process of collecting followup data on body weight, self-esteem,

self-image, and the extent to which weight has remained a central preoccupation of the individual. One indication that the program is responsive to the needs of its clientele, if not successful in more traditional

senses, is that the dropout rate has been extremely small and termination, unless forced by a geographic move or other extraneous factors, is

based on the patient’s decision that he/she has reached an acceptable

stopping point. Continuing communications from patients often have more

to do with their increasing sense of liberation or life accomplishments

than with weight.

FINAL COMMENT

It is often said that obesity has increased because food is more

available. Increased use of other substances has sometimes been similarly explained (e.g., heroin use by Vietnam soldiers). Obviously,

such observations are true in the trivial sense that a substance cannot

be used at all if it is completely unavailable and a certain degree of

availability within the immediate social context is necessary to learn

the behavioral repertoires involved in use.

However, it is not clear that once minimum conditions of availability are met, this generalization still pertains. Instead, it appears that the relationship between availability and use may reverse

itself in line with the concept of supply and demand. Relatively unavailable commodities may be seen as more precious and be more sought

after. The literature on schedule-induced substance use demonstrates

that reduction of availability in one substance may bias toward use or

abuse of another.

In animal studies availability can be defined entirely by the substances

present in the immediate environment and by the schedule required to obtain them. In the case of humans, availability is a far more complex

concept involving psychological and cognitive elements. For example,

to someone on a diet, food is both available and out of reach. It is,

in fact, everywhere, and the individual nearly always has the means to get

to it. And yet at a psychological level, it is unavailable, or at least

unpredictably available. The dieter knows that eventually his resolve

will weaken and he will eat, but he doesn’t know when this will happen.

It is ironic that the desirability placed on thinness has actually made

246
food less available, in this sense, than at any time in recent history.

On a prima facie basis, this seems as likely an explanation of the rising

incidence of obesity as food abundance.

Many have cited the relationship between stress and substance abuse. In

many instances stress may be said to represent unavailability of important gratifications. The incidence of obesity is many times greater in

the lowest social classes, a fact which on the basis of current evidence

is probably improperly, attributed to differences in diet composition or

greater acceptance of obesity. It is not so much that food is more available to the impoverished ghetto mother than to a wealthy socialite but

that it is nearly the only thing available. But not without the guilt

which further heightens its value.

These considerations are mentioned because of the possibility that they

may have important theoretical and practical implications. At a theoretical level, it may be necessary to consider that there is a psychological component to the concept of deprivation which takes into account

the availability of a number of potential sources of gratification. The

psychological state may interact with biological variables to produce

important behavioral and physiologic changes. We have seen, for example,

that in rats food deprivation sets in motion powerful compensatory metabolic changes. In humans, these changes may depend in part on the sense

of deprivation, the experience of hunger or longing. The elicitation of

emergency conserving mechanisms may, in short. involve both mind and

body: Clearly, something is missing from our understanding, since animal

models fail to perfectly predict human responses and that which is missing

may be that which is peculiarly human: the ability to anticipate, think,

worry, and want.

At a more immediate practical level, the poor success achieved in

treatment of obesity is leading policymakers to contemplate the creation of national incentives for weight loss, such as differential health

coverage benefits, and to emphasize prevention efforts likely to take

the form of urging parents, especially obese ones, not to overfeed their

children. Such interventions may well be premature. In the case of penalties for obesity, they are unfair. In both cases they seem as likely

to worsen the problems as to alleviate them. Until we understand what

conditions permit establishment and maintenance of a normal body weight,

and unless we can rule out the plausible hypothesis that attempts to

drive weight down to culturally rather than biologically normal values

are themselves a causal factor in obesity, we should be wary of any

programs which increase pressure to limit food intake, especially in

the young.

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REFERENCES

Aldebaran. Fat liberation - a luxury? An open letter to radical

(and other) therapists. (Quotes taken from an unpublished manuscript

supplied by the author; this article subsequently appeared in State

of Mind, 5:35, 1977.)

Apfelbaum, M., Bostsarron, J.; and Lacatis, D. Effect of caloric

restriction and excessive caloric intake on energy expenditure.

Am J Clin Med Nutr, 24:1405-1409, 1971.

Ashworth, N.; Creedy, S.; Hunt, J.; Mahon, S.; and Newland, P. Effect

of nightly food supplements on food intake in man. Lancet, 2:685, 1962.

Booth, D.A. Caloric compensation in rats with continuous or

intermittent access to food. Physiol Beh, 8:891-899, 1972.

Boyle, P.C.; Storlien, L.H.; and Keesey, R.E. Increased efficiency of

food utilization following weight loss. Physiol Beh, 21, 261, 1978.

Boyle, P.C.; Storlien, L.H.; Harper, A.E.; and Keesey, R.E. Metabolic

rate during undernutrition and realimentation in the rat. Presented

at Eastern Psychological Association, 1978.

Bray, G. Effect of caloric restriction on energy expenditure in obese

patients. Lancet, 2:397, 1969.

Buskirk, E.R.; Thompson, R.H.; Lutwak, L.; and Whedon, G.D. Energy

balance of obese patients during weight reduction: Influence of diet

restriction and exercise. Ann NY Acad Sci, 110:918-940, 1963.

Coll, M.; Meyer, A.; and Stunkard, A.J. Obesity and food choices in

public places. Arch Gen Psychiat, in press.

Collier, G.; Hirsch, E.; and Kanarek, R. The operant revisited. In

Honig, W.K., and Staddon, J.E.R., eds.

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AUTHORS

Susan C. Wooley, Ph. D.

Orland W. Wooley, Ph.D.

Susan R. Dyrenforth

Department of Psychiatry, 7207

University of Cincinnati'

College of Medicine Building

Cincinnati, Ohio 45267
George E. Bigelow, Ph.D.

City of Baltimore

Department of Hospitals

4940 Eastern Avenue

Baltimore, Maryland 21224

Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Department of Psychiatry

University of Pennsylvania

205 Piersol Building

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

Peter E. Nathan, Ph.D.

GSAPP, Busch Campus

Rutgers University

P.O. Box 819

Piscataway, New Jersey 08854

Terry F. Pechacek, Ph.D.

Laboratory of Psychological Hygiene

University of Minnesota

Stadium Gate 27

611 Beacon Street S.E.

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455

Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

Department of Psychology

Virginia Polytechnic Institute

and State University

Blacksburg, Virginia 24061

Sharon M. Hall, Ph.D.

Human Addictions Research

1490 Fifth Avenue

University of California

San Francisco, California 94143

Edward Lichtenstein, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology

Department of Psychology

University of Oregon

Eugene, Oregon 97403

Thomas R. Lipscomb, Ph.D.

Department of Psychiatry

School of Medicine

University of Connecticut

Fannington, Connecticut 06032

G. Alan Marlatt, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology

Department of Psychology, N1-15

University of Washington

Seattle, Washington 98195

William R. Miller, Ph.D.

Director of Alcohol Research and

Treatment Project

University of New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131

Technical Review Participants

Roy W. Pickens, Ph.D.

Professor

Department of Psychiatry, Research Unit

University of Minnesota, Medical

School

420 Delaware Street S.E.

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455

Ovide Pomerleau, Ph.D.

Director

Center for Behavioral Medicine

Hospital of University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

Richard Rawson, Ph.D.

Department of Psychiatry

New York Medical College

5 East 102nd Street -

New York, New York 10029

Maxine Stitzer, Ph.D.

Behavioral Pharmacology Research

Unit

Department of Psychiatry

D Building, 5 West

Baltimore City Hospitals

4940 Eastern Avenue

Baltimore, Maryland 21224

Charles J. Wallace, Ph.D.

Associate Director (MHCRC)

Camarillo, NPI Research Program

Box A

Camarillo, California 93010

251
G. Terence Wilson, Ph.D.

Department of Psychiatry

Rutgers University

New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903

Susan C. Wooley, Ph.D.

Department of Psychiatry

University of Cincinnati

College of Medicine Building

321 Bethesda Avenue

Cincinnati, Ohio 45267

Conference Moderator

Norman A. Krasnegor, Ph.D.

Division of Research

National Institute on Drug Abuse

5600 Fishers Lane

Rockville, Maryland 20857

252
monograph series

While limited supplies last, single copies of the monographs may

be obtained free of charge from the National Clearinghouse for Drug

Abuse Information (NCDAI). Please contact NCDAI also for information about availability of coming issues and other publications of

the National Institute on Drug Abuse relevant to drug abuse research.

Additional copies may be purchased from the U.S. Government Printing

Office (GPO) and/or the National Technical Information Service (NTIS)

as indicated. NTIS prices are for paper copy. Microfiche copies,

at $3, are also available from NTIS. Prices from either source are

subject to change.

Addresses are:

NCDAI

National Clearinghouse for Drug Abuse Information

Room 10-A-56

5600 Fishers Lane

Rockville, Maryland 20857

GPO

Superintendent of Documents

U.S. Government Printing Office

Washington, D.C. 20402

NTIS

National Technical Information

Service

U.S. Department of Commerce

Springfield, Virginia 22161

1 FINDINGS OF DRUG ABUSE RESEARCH. An annotated bibliography of

NIMH- and NIDA-supported extramural grant research, 1964-74.

Volume 1, 384 pp., Volume 2, 377 pp.

Vol. 1: GPO out of stock NTIS PB #272 867/AS $14

Vol. 2: GPO Stock #017-024-0466-9 $5.05 NTIS PB #272 868/AS $13

2 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS IN SOCIO-BEHAVIORAL DRUG USE RESEARCH 1975.

Jack Elinson, Ph.D., and David Nurco, Ph.D., editors. Task Force

articles proposing consensual definitions of concepts and terms used

in psychosocial research to achieve operational comparability. 167 pp.

GPO out of stock NTIS PB #246 338/AS $8

253
3 AMINERGIC HYPOTHESES OF BEHAVIOR: REALITY OR CLICHE? Bruce J.

Bernard, Ph.D., editor. Articles examining the relation of the brain

monoamines to a range of animal and human behaviors.

GPO Stock #017-024-00486-3 $2.25 NTIS PB #246 687/AS $8

4 NARCOTIC ANTAGONISTS: THE SEARCH FOR LONG-ACTING PREPARATIONS.

Robert Willette, Ph.D., editor. Articles reporting current alternative

inserted sustained-release or long-acting drug devices. 45 pp.

GPO Stock #017-024-00488-0 $1.10 NTIS PB #247 096/AS $4.50

5 YOUNG MEN AND DRUGS: A NATIONWIDE SURVEY. John A. O'Donnell,

Ph.D., et al. Report of a national survey of drug uee by men 20-30

years old in 1974-5. 144 pp.

GPO Stock #017-024-00511-8 $2.25 NTIS PB #247 446/AS $8

6 EFFECTS OF LABELING THE "DRUG ABUSER": AN INQUIRY. Jay R.

Williams, Ph.D. Analysis and review, of the literature examining

effects of drug use apprehension or arrest on the adoleacent. 39 pp.

GPO stock #017-024-00512-6 $1.05 NTIS PB #249 092/AS $4.50

7 CANNABINOID ASSAYS IN HUMANS. Robert Willette, Ph.D., editor.

Articles describing current developments, in methods for measuring

cannabinoid levels in the human body by immunoassay, liquid and

GPO Stock #017-024-00510-0 $1.95

dual column chromatography and mass spectroscopy techniques. 120 pp.

NTIS PB #251 905/AS $7.25

8 Rx: 3x/WEEK LAAM - ALTERNATIVE TO METHADONE. Jack Blaine, M.D.,

and Pierre Renault, M.D., editors. Comprehensive summary of

development of LAAM (Levo-alpha-acetyl methadol), a new drug for

treatment of narcotic addiction. 127 pp.

Not available from GPPO NTIS PB #253 763/AS $7.25

9 NARCOTIC ANTAGONISTS: NALTREXONE. Demetrios Julius, M.D., and

Pierre Renault, M.D., editors. Progress report of development,

preclinical and clinical studies of naltrexone, a new drug for

treatment of narcotic addiction. 182 pp.

GPO Stock #017-024-00521-5 $2.55 NTIS PB #255 833/AS $9

10 EPIDEMIOLCGY OF DRUG ABUSE: CURRENT ISSUES. Louise G. Richards,

Ph.D., and Louise B. Blevens, editors. Conference proceedings. Examination of methodological problems in surveys and data collection. 259 pp.

GPO Stock #017-024-00571-1 $2.60 NTIS PB #266 691/AS $10.75

11 DRUGS AND DRIVING. Robert Willette, Ph.D., editor. State-of-theart review, of current research on the effects of different drugs on

performance impairment, particularly on driving. 137 pp.

GPO Stock #017-024-00576-2 $1.70 NTIS PB #269 602/AS $8

12 PSYCHODYNAMICS OF DRUG DEPENDENCE. Jack D. Blaine, M.D., and

Demetrios A. Julius, M.D., editors. A pioneering collection of papers

to discover the part played by individual psychodynamics in drug dependence. 187 pp.

GPO Stock #017-024-00642-4 $2.75 NTIS PB #276 084/AS $9

254
13 COCAINE: 1977. Robert C. Petersen, Ph.D., and Richard C.

Stillman, M.D., editors. A series of reports developing a picture

of the extent and limits of current knowledge of the drug, its use

and misuse. 223 pp.

GPO Stock #017-024-00592-4 $3 NTIS PB #269 175/AS $9.25

14 MARIHUANA RESEARCH FINDINGS: 1976. Robert C. Petersen, Ph.D.,

editor. Technical papers on epidemiology, chemistry and metabolism,

toxicological and pharmacological effects, learned and unlearned behavior, genetic and immune system effects, and therapeutic aspects,

of marihuana use. 251 pp.

GPO Stock #017-024-00622-0 $3 NTIS PB #271 279/AS $10.75

15 REVIEW OF INHALANTS EUPHORIA TO DYSFUNCTION. Charles WM.

Sharp, Ph.D., and Mary Lee Brehm, Ph.D., editors. A broad review, of

inhalant abuse, including sociocultural, behavioral, clinical, pharmacological, and toxicological aspects. Extensive bibiliography. 347 pp.

GPO Stock #017-024-00650-5 $4.25 NTIS PB #275 798/AS $12.50

16 THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF HEROIN AND OTHER NARCOTICS. Joan Dunne Rittenhouse, Ph.D., editor. Task Force report on measurement of heroinnarcotic use, gaps in knowledge and how to address them, improved research technologies, and research implications. 249 pp.

GPO Stock #017-024-00690-4 $3.50 NTIS PB #276 357/AS $9.50

17 RESEARCH ON SMOKING BEHAVIOR. Murray E. Jarvik, M.D., Ph.D.,

et al., editors. State-of-the-art of research on smoking behavior,

including epidemiology, etiology, socioeconomic and physical consequences of use, and approaches to behavioral change. From a NIDAsupported UCLA conference. 383 pp.

GPO Stock #017-024-00694-7 $4.50 NTIS PB #276 353/AS $13

18 BEHAVIORAL TOLERANCE: RESEARCH AND TREATMENT IMPLICATIONS.

Norman A. Krasnegor, Ph.D., editor. Conference papers discuss

theoretical and empirical studies of nonpharmacologic factors in

development of tolerance to a variety of drugs in animal and human

subjects. 151 pp.

GPO Stock #017-024-00699-8 $2.75 NTIS PB #276 337/AS $8

19 THE INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE OF DRUG ABUSE. Robert C. Petersen,

Ph.D., editor. A monograph based on papers presented at the World

Psychiatric Association 1977 meeting in Honolulu. Emphasis is on

emerging patterns of drug use, international aspects of research,

and therapeutic issues of particular interest worldwide.

GPO Stock #017-024-00822-2 $4.50 NTIS PB #293 807/AS $12.50

20 SELF-ADMINISTRATION OF ABUSED SUBSTANCES: METHODS FOR STUDY,

Norman A. Krasnegor, Ph.D., editor. Papers from a technical review on

methods used to study self-administration of abused substances. Discussions include Overview, methodological analysis, and future planning

of research on a Variety of substances: drugs, ethanol, food, and

tobacco. 246 pp.

Not available from GPO NTIS PB #288 471/AS $10.75

255
21 PHENCYCLIDINE (PCP) ABUSE: AN APPRAISAL. Robert C. Petersen,

Ph.D., and Richard C. Stillman, M.D., editors. Monograph derived from

a technical review to assess the present state of knowledge about phencyclidine and to focus on additional areas of research. Papers are

aimed at a professional and scientific readership concerned about how,

to cope with the problem of PCP abuse.

GPO Stock #017-024-00785-4 $4.25

313 pp.

NTIS PB #288 472/AS $11.75

22 QUASAR: QUANTITATIVE STRUCTURE ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIPS OF ANALGESICS. NARCOTIC ANTAGONISTS, AND HALLUCINOGENS. Gene Barnett,

Ph.D., Milan Trisc, Ph.D., and Robert E. Willette, Ph.D., editors.

Reports an interdisciplinary conference on the molecular nature

of drug-receptor interactions. A broad range of quantitative techniques were applied to questions of molecular structure, correlation of molecular properties with biologicat activity, and molecular interactions with the receptor(s). 487 pp.

GPO Stock #017-024-00786-2 $5.25 NTIS PB #292 265/AS $15

23 CIGARETTE SMOKING AS A DEPENDENCE PROCESS. Norman A. Krasnegor,

Ph.D., editor. A review of the biological, behavioral, and psychosocial factors involved in the onset, maintenance, and cessation

of tobacco/nicotine use is presented, together with an agenda for

further research on the cigarette smoking habit.

GPO Stock #017-024-00895-8 $4.50 NTIS PB #297 721/AS $9.25

24 SYNTHETIC ESTIMATES FOR SMALL AREAS: WORKSHOP PAPERS AND DISCUSSION. Joseph Steinberg, editor. Papers from a workshop cosponsored by NIDA and the National Center for Health Statistics on a

class of statistical approaches that yield needed estimates of data

for States and local areas. Methodology and applications, Strengths

and weaknesses are discussed.

GPO Stock #017-024-00911-3 $5 NTIS No. to be assigned

256

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1979 0 - 300-345
DHEW Publication No. (ADM) 79-839

Printed 1979