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Promise of a couples' intervention in reducing alcohol and other drug use: Results from a cluster randomized trial in South Africa
Methods: 290 heterosexual couples recruited from drinking establishments in 30 neighborhoods were randomized to either: couple’s intervention; separate women’s and men’s group interventions; and women’s intervention only. All participants received biological testing and completed baseline and six-month follow-up interviews with 94% completion. We used multivariable Poisson and logistic regression, adjusted for neighborhood clustering and baseline measures, to compare cannabis, methamphetamine, and alcohol use by gender between participants randomized to the couples’ intervention and those in the comparison groups.
Results: The mean age was 25 years. At baseline, 10% of women and 37% of men used cannabis, 4% of women and 15% of men used methamphetamine, and 31% of women and 70% of men reported frequent binge drinking. At follow-up, the odds of cannabis use was lower among women (OR=0.21; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.90) and men (OR=0.14; 95% CI: 0.07, 0.31) in the couples’ intervention relative to the comparison groups. Men in the couples’ intervention reported a lower odds of methamphetamine use (OR=0.28; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.68), and a lower rate of binge drinking (IRR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.66, 0.85).
Conclusions: A couples-focused intervention led to reductions in cannabis use among women and men and reductions in methamphetamine use and binge drinking among men.
Learning Areas:
Diversity and culturePublic health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Describe differences by gender in alcohol and drug use among young Black South African couples in three types of intervention conditions.
Demonstrate differences by gender in behavioral outcomes in alcohol and drug use in the experimental condition relative to the other two groups.
Keyword(s): Alcohol Use, Behavioral Research
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Principal Investigator on the study.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.