A pilot study on the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a brief text message intervention for co-occurring alcohol misuse and PTSD symptoms in a community sample.

Accessible, brief, and self-directed intervention are needed to improve treatment access for individuals with co-occuring PTSD and alcohol misuse. This pilot study tests the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a brief text message intervention based on cognitive behavioral therapy plus message framing (CBT + Framing) compared to active control providing kind support and attention (KAM), to reduce PTSD symptoms and alcohol use. Two waves of community-based data collection (Wave 1 n = 50; Wave 2 n = 59) were completed. Participants self-reported symptoms at baseline, post-intervention, and 8-week follow-up. Engagement and retention were high, suggesting messages were feasible and acceptable. Across waves and conditions, from baseline to follow-up primary outcomes of PTSD symptoms (medium to large effects), weekly drinks (medium effects), and heavy episodic drinking (small to medium effects) decreased. Consistent with hypotheses, CBT + Framing outperformed KAM for PTSD at post in Wave 2 and for number of heavy drinking episodes at both post and follow-up in Wave 1. Contrary to hypotheses, KAM outperformed CBT + Framing for PTSD at post in Wave 1, and minimal differences were observed between conditions for weekly drinks in both waves. Future studies should continue to develop and test brief, accessible interventions.