Religiosity may prolong abstinence among adults on CBT for substance use disorder

USA: A original paper published in the Journal of Religion and Health has concluded that religiosity is associated with a longer duration of abstinence in the cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) treatment group in Latinx adults with substance use disorders.

A high risk for dropout and report treatment dissatisfaction has often been reported in Latinx adults with substance use disorders. Previous studies have mentioned that for substance use, religiosity is one of the protective factors. This has rarely been studied among Latinx populations.

Only some studies have examined its relationship with the treatment outcomes among Latinx adults. There needs to be more data to elucidate this.

Considering this, a study was conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr Yudilyn Jaramillo from the Department of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine from Yale University to determine the following:

What is the relationship between religiosity and treatment outcomes?

The study points are:

· The parent randomized controlled trial (RCT) described elsewhere included 92 participants from 3 outpatient clinics offering substance use treatment.

• The data of 89 individual participants were used in the study.

• The primary language of the participants was Spanish.

• These met the criteria of current substance use and had a history of substances within 28 days of the screening date.

• The treatment group included access to a culturally adapted CBT program (CBT4CBT-Spanish).

• Religious Background and Behavior questionnaires were used in the study.

• Two-tailed tests were used to analyze the data.

• Few significant correlations were observed between religiosity scores and treatment outcomes.

• There was a positive correlation between past-year religiosity and one measure of abstinence for those randomized to CBT4CBT-Spanish.

• These findings were not persistent during a follow-up period of six months.

The researchers said our study's findings suggest a short-term association between religiosity and abstinence outcomes among Latinx adults who receive a culturally adapted cognitive behavioral therapy treatment.

Further research is warranted with larger and more heterogenous Latinx populations.

As acknowledged, The research was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse Grants.

Further reading:

Jaramillo, Y., DeVito, E.E., Frankforter, T. et al. Religiosity and Spirituality in Latinx Individuals with Substance Use Disorders: Association with Treatment Outcomes in a Randomized Clinical Trial. J Relig Health 61, 4139–4154 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-022-01544-2