Social support in alcohol dependence and social phobia: Treatment comparisons

Objective: This study investigated whether different alcoholism treatment approaches differentially impact social support scores in individuals with concurrent alcohol dependence and social phobia. Method: Individuals (N = 397) were selected retrospectively from a larger pool of participants enrolled in a multisite randomized clinical trial on treatment marching. Three standard treatments were delivered over 12 weeks: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Twelve Step Facilitation Therapy (TSF), and Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET). Social support measures were analyzed to test the effects of treatment group and gender Results: For men, there was significant improvement on two measures of social support regardless of treatment group. Women who received CBT or TSF had better support outcomes than women who received MET Conclusions: These data suggest that social support can be improved through alcohol treatment in individuals with coexisting social phobia, particularly if social workers emphasize skills training and facilitating involvement in 12-step groups.