Action on Addiction

Our Current Research

Exploring the Acceptability of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous Among Young Substance Users

Victoria Manning is carrying out a study exploring the acceptability of Alcoholics and Narcotics (AA/NA) meetings amongst young people. These support groups have traditionally been attended by mainly older people. Victoria and her team are investigating ways of increasing the attendance at these groups.

'Recovery Coach' study

Victoria is also trying to determine whether or not having a 'recovery coach' (a peer who has been through the process of attending Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous meetings already, and is much further along the recovery path) can be helpful in encouraging people to attend AA/NA meetings and abstain from their alcohol and drug use.

Profile of Harm Caused to the Children of Substance-Misusing Parents

In addition to her other projects, Victoria is analysing national databases and investigating the relevant data to try to determine a profile of harm caused to children whose parents misuse substances. She will also use the data to estimate the number of these vulnerable children.

Preventure study

It seems one of the best ways to tackle addiction is via education in schools and colleges but until now, most have been found to be completely ineffective. With 20,000 young people each year becoming adult drug users, the key is to find a prevention technique that works.

Dr Patricia Conrod is currently working on the Preventure Project. This is a school-based prevention programme currently being conducted in 18 schools in London boroughs. The programme targets teenagers who have a "risky" personality type which may be more prone to substance abuse, namely:

• anxiety sensitivity
• sensation seeking
• negative thinking
• impulsivity

The project aims to help children deal with their personality types in more positive ways.

The programme is based on interactive group sessions using specially designed educational material. They focus on the factors which motivate "risky" behaviour, and provide students with coping skills to aid their decision making in situations involving, anxiety and depression, thrill seeking, aggressive and risky behaviour (e.g. theft, vandalism and bullying) drugs and alcohol misuse.

Nearly 3,000 students aged between 13 and 16 were initially surveyed to determine their personality type. Amongst those, 422 students were invited to participate in the study and assigned to either one of the four intervention sessions - Sensation Seeking, Negative Thinking, Impulsivity and Anxiety Sensitive, or a control group (which receives no intervention).

Preventure study in Pupil Referral Units

The Preventure study has also been extended to 12 Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) in London. Six PRUs are control schools and six will use the intervention. The team are analysing results.

Adventure study

Dr Conrod and her team are now training staff in secondary schools in the UK to deliver these interventions to young people.

Children of Alcoholics study

Individuals with a family history of alcoholism are at 4 to 9 times greater risk for developing alcoholism. Family history of alcoholism is also associated with a type of alcoholism that has an earlier onset and more chronic and severe course.

Research on children of alcoholics indicates that they are characterized by childhood conduct disorder and hyperactivity, behavioural undercontrol, anxiety, abnormal stress-response patterns and sensitivity to the reinforcing effects of alcohol.

Despite a large body of research examining characteristics of children of alcoholics, there is very little known about how to prevent genetic vulnerability to alcoholism.

The team are developing intervention programmes that target genetic risk for alcoholism and for research that tests the success of their prevention techniques.

Recruitment for this study has been extremely difficult due to the nature of the study. Parents do not want to admit their children are eligible for the study and often there are child protection issues and many children do not live with parents who give consent. However, the study has started.

(RIOTT Trial) Randomised Injectable Opiate Treatments Trial

The Randomised Injectable Opiate Treatment Trial (RIOTT) is the first clinical trial of its kind to be carried out in the UK. It is a 4 year study, and is currently around half way through.

There are around 10% of heroin addicts who have failed to respond to conventional opiate treatment. Many of these people commit crimes to fund their habit. This trial compares the effectiveness of treatments.

Participants are randomly assigned one of the following treatments:

• Optimised oral methadone (optimised just means that the conditions are optimal - i.e. doses are individualised, taken under supervision, the client can receive other help, like counselling).
• Injectable methadone
• Injectable heroin (Swiss diamorphine)

All clients receiving treatments are supervised by medical staff clinics, which are based in London, Brighton and Darlington.

Some clients have shown marked improvements in their health and by regularly attending the clinics they have also created more structure to their day, which is important to people who may never have had any routine in their lives.

This study is supported by the Big Lottery Fund.