A randomized controlled trial of inhibitory control training for the reduction of alcohol consumption in problem drinkers

Objective: We conducted a randomized controlled trial to compare the effects of three types of Internet-delivered Inhibitory Control Training (ICT) with each other and with an active control intervention on alcohol consumption in a community sample of problem drinkers. Method: Two hundred and 46 heavy drinkers, who were motivated to reduce their alcohol consumption (mean age 41.32, 130 female) self-monitored their alcohol consumption for 1 week before being randomized to receive 1 of 3 variants of ICT (Associative No-Go, Associative Stop Signal, General Inhibition) or an active control. Participants then completed up to 14 ICT/control sessions on the Internet over a 4-week period, while regularly recording their alcohol consumption. Results: There were significant reductions in alcohol consumption across all groups over the 4-week training period (main effect of time, F(2, 402) = 77.12, p < .01, ηp2 = .28, BF10 > 99), however there were no differences between ICT groups, or between ICT groups and the active control group (Group × Time interaction, F(6, 402) = 1.10, p = .36, ηp2 = .02, BF10 = 0.03). Contrary to hypotheses, there were no changes in general inhibitory control, the disinhibiting effects of alcohol cues, or alcohol affective associations after ICT. Conclusions: In this study, which attempted to translate findings from proof-of-concept laboratory studies into a viable behavior change intervention, we found that multiple sessions of ICT delivered over the Internet did not help heavy drinkers to reduce their alcohol consumption beyond nonspecific effects associated with taking part in a trial.
What is the public health significance of this article? Findings from this randomized controlled trial demonstrated that Inhibitory Control Training (ICT), a novel Internet-delivered behavioral intervention that is intended to improve inhibitory control, did not help problem drinkers to reduce their alcohol consumption beyond the nonspecific effects associated with taking part in a trial and regular self-monitoring of alcohol consumption. These findings suggest that interventions developed in laboratory settings may require substantial modification if they are to be translated info effective behavior change interventions suited for remote delivery.