Date of Award

Fall 12-1-2022

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. J. Leverone

Second Advisor

Dr. A. Hughes-Scalise

Third Advisor

Dr. M. Bennett

Abstract

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is one of the leading causes of death and disability among individuals in the United States (Bergmann et al., 2013; Jung, 2019; Sliedrecht et al., 2019; Witkiewitz, 2019). A number of individuals reporting an AUD diagnosis also report difficulties related to numerous physical, social, and mental health consequences, most notably, major depression. Major depressive disorder (MDD) and AUD co-occur at high rates, and researchers have been investigating the negative consequences and outcomes related to these co-occurring illnesses (McHugh & Weiss, 2019; Tolliver & Anton, 2022). Using a large nationally representative sample of 18–36-year-olds, treatment completion within various treatment modalities (i.e., hospital settings; mental health settings; and family and community support settings) were examined among those diagnosed with a co-occurring AUD and a lifetime Major Depressive Episode (MDE), and with a single alcohol use diagnosis. Logistic regression analyses revealed individuals with a co-occurring AUD and MDE were six times more likely to drop out of treatment prematurely compared to individuals with a single AUD diagnosis. This study also revealed that men and women do not differ in treatment completion in general. However, a significant finding was observed among women receiving treatment in hospital and primary care settings: women with a single AUD diagnosis were more likely to leave treatment in these settings prematurely compared to men. The findings may be accounted for by the increased complexity and challenges associated with a co-occurring AUD and MDE and highlights the need for targeted mental health care within substance use treatment centers (Archie et al., 2012; Bazargan-Hejazi et al., 2016; Holma et al., 2020; McHugh & Weiss, 2019; Pavkovic et al., 2018).

Identifier

SC 11.PsyD.2022.Madler.S

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