Collado A, Stokes A. Imagining the future can shape the present: A systematic review of the impact of episodic future thinking on substance use outcomes.
PSYCHOLOGY OF ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS 2024;
38:134-152. [PMID:
37307365 PMCID:
PMC10713863 DOI:
10.1037/adb0000933]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
The combination of the high prevalence of problematic substance use and substance use disorders (SUD) with the low rates of spontaneous remission continues to generate interest in the development of novel and efficacious interventions. Theoretically, episodic future thinking (EFT) is capable of targeting various underlying psychological and neurobiological substrates of SUD by traversing various research domain criteria systems.
METHOD
The systematic review examines EFT as a potentially efficacious intervention for problematic substance use and SUD. The review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We examined 46 full-text studies (from 1,238 total records obtained from APA PsycInfo and Pubmed databases and reference list search), which yielded a final sample of 16 studies.
RESULTS
The studies showed heterogeneity in their risk of bias, EFT protocols, and control conditions. Overall, EFT showed benefits in reducing self-reported or task-based substance use-related outcomes.
CONCLUSIONS
Future research directions include establishing the feasibility of EFT, examining the generalizability in decreasing real-world substance use, identifying mediators and moderators of EFT outcomes, and determining the sustainability of EFT effects over time. EFT has high potential for dissemination. Limitations and potential for future research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
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