The effect of referral for brief intervention for alcohol misuse on repetition of deliberate self-harm: an exploratory randomized controlled trial

• Published in: Psychological medicine Vol. 40; no. 11; pp. 1821 - 1828
• Main Authors: Crawford, M. J., Csipke, E., Brown, A., Reid, S., Nilsen, K., Redhead, J., Touquet, R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.11.2010
• Subjects: Adult; Alcohol abuse; Alcohol consumption; Alcohol Drinking; Alcohol use; Alcoholism; Alcoholism - psychology; Alcoholism - therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Brief interventions; Clinical outcomes; Clinical trials; deliberate self-harm; Desintoxication. Drug withdrawal; Emergency services; Female; Health information; Humans; Intervention; Male; Medical referrals; Medical sciences; Mental health care; Patient Satisfaction; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychotherapy, Brief; randomized controlled trial; Referral and Consultation; Referrals; Repetition; Self destructive behavior; Self injury; Self-Injurious Behavior - psychology; Self-Injurious Behavior - therapy; Selfinjury; Single-Blind Method; Treatment Outcome; Treatments; United Kingdom; Europe; Alcohol abuse; deliberate self-harm; randomized controlled trial; Social environment; Human; Self injury; Relapse; Poison withdrawal; Alcoholism; Mental health; Controlled therapeutic trial; Substance abuse; Brief intervention; Alcoholic beverage; Treatment; Follow up study; Risk factor; Self destruction; Public health
• ISSN: 0033-2917; 1469-8978; 1469-8978
• DOI: 10.1017/S0033291709991899

Referral for brief intervention among people who misuse alcohol is reported to be effective but its impact among those who present to services following deliberate self-harm (DSH) has not been examined. Consecutive patients who presented to an Emergency Department (ED) following an episode of DSH were screened for alcohol misuse. Those found to be misusing alcohol were randomly assigned to brief intervention plus a health information leaflet or to a health information leaflet alone. The primary outcome was whether the patient reattended an ED following a further episode of DSH during the subsequent 6 months. Secondary outcomes were alcohol consumption, mental health and satisfaction with care measured 3 and 6 months after randomization. One hundred and three people took part in the study. Follow-up data on our primary outcome were obtained for all subjects and on 63% for secondary outcomes. Half those referred for brief intervention received it. Repetition of DSH was strongly associated with baseline alcohol consumption, but not influenced by treatment allocation. There was a non-significant trend towards the number of units of alcohol consumed per drinking day being lower among those randomized to brief intervention. Referral for brief intervention for alcohol misuse following an episode of DSH may not influence the likelihood of repetition of self-harm. Longer-term interventions may be needed to help people who deliberately harm themselves and have evidence of concurrent alcohol misuse.