Effects of the Self-efficacy Enhancement Program for Drinking Refusal on Alcohol Drinking Behaviors among Major Depressive Disorders, Dokkhamtai Hospital, Phayao Province.

Abstract

For persons with major depressive disorders drinking alcohol often leads to self-harming behaviors and puts them at a significantly higher risk of completed suicide. This study employed a quasi-experimental, one-group, pre-posttest design to study the effect of a self-efficacy enhancement for drinking refusal program on alcohol drinking behaviors among patients with major depressive disorders who drink alcohol at Dokkhamtai Hospital, Phayao province. The sample consisted of 30 persons with major depressive disorders with alcohol drinking behaviors. Data were collected at four time points: before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, at a 1-month follow-up, and at a 3-month follow-up. The self-efficacy enhancement for drinking refusal program was used as the research’s interventional program. Data collection instruments included: 1) a general information questionnaire and 2) an alcohol drinking behavior screening tool. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics for general information, the Friedman test to compare differences over time, and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests for pairwise comparisons.

The results revealed that the mean scores of alcohol drinking behavior at all three post-intervention time points were significantly lower than the pre-intervention scores. Actually, when paired for each two time points as shown on the abstract, the findings were statistically significant different except the pair of a 1-month F/U and a 3-month F/U. Therefore, the self-efficacy enhancement program for alcohol refusal demonstrated a reduction in effectiveness within one month after program completion. It is recommended that the program be further developed to include a booster dose beyond the one-month period.