Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/144123
Title: Making sense of negative findings from mobile attention bias modification interventions for individuals with addictive disorders : quantitative feasibility study
Authors: Zhang, Melvyn
Ying, Jiangbo
Amron, Syidda B.
Mahreen, Zaakira
Song, Guo
Fung, Daniel Shuen Sheng
Smith, Helen Elizabeth
Keywords: Science::Medicine
Issue Date: 2019
Source: Zhang, M., Ying, J., Amron, S. B., Mahreen, Z., Song, G., Fung, D. S. S., & Smith, H. E. (2019). Making sense of negative findings from mobile attention bias modification interventions for individuals with addictive disorders : quantitative feasibility study. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 7(11), e16325-. doi:10.2196/16325
Journal: JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Abstract: Background: Advances in experimental psychology have led to a better understanding of unconscious, automatic processes that result in individuals relapsing into their substance-using habits. While some reviews have demonstrated the effectiveness of bias retraining of these unconscious biases, there have been other reviews that have highlighted that bias retraining is not always effective. Other studies have revealed there was no baseline biases among some participants. An examination of mobile bias retraining interventions has also revealed mixed results, with some reporting effectiveness and others null findings. A recent feasibility and acceptability study, done by the authors, revealed that 53% of participants have had no baseline biases and 21% of those with positive baseline biases did not have a positive change in magnitude following intervention. Objective: The aim of this paper was to explore potential variables (demographic and clinical) that could account for the negative baseline biases in the prior feasibility and acceptability study, and to discuss some of the factors that could account for the absence of baseline biases. We also explored potential reasons for why there was no reduction in the magnitude of attentional biases among individuals with baseline biases. Methods: Participants who were in the rehabilitation phase of their treatment were invited to participate. During the study they had to complete a set of baseline questionnaires, and on each day that they were on the ward they had to complete an attention bias assessment and modification task and rate their cravings using a visual analogue scale. Attention bias was deemed to be present if individuals had a positive score. Results: In our study, 53% (16/30) of individuals did not present with baseline attentional biases, and among those with positive baseline biases a total of 21% (3/14) of participants did not have a reduction in the overall magnitude of attentional biases. Chi-square analyses undertaken to compare the demographic characteristics of participants with and without baseline biases did not reveal any significant findings. However, with respect to clinical characteristics, those who had positive baseline biases had experimented with more substances. Conclusions: Our study is one of the first to have explored negative findings in attention bias modification interventions for individuals with addictive disorders. We postulate that several factors could account for the absence of baseline biases and there being no changes following bias retraining. Future research ought to take into consideration these factors.
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/144123
ISSN: 2291-5222
DOI: 10.2196/16325
Schools: Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) 
Organisations: Family Medicine and Primary Care
Rights: © Melvyn Wb Zhang, Jiangbo Ying, Syidda B Amron, Zaakira Mahreen, Guo Song, Daniel SS Fung, Helen E Smith. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 12.11.2019. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR mhealth and uhealth, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://mhealth.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
Fulltext Permission: open
Fulltext Availability: With Fulltext
Appears in Collections:LKCMedicine Journal Articles

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