Another potential explanation for the relatively poor effects of CM in this study may relate to the type of behavior that was reinforced. CM interventions often reinforce abstinence directly. In a study with cocaine abusing patients, contingent reinforcement of adherence to goal-related activities resulted in no benefits beyond standard care, but a CM treatment that reinforced abstinence directly improved drug use outcomes (Petry et al., 2006). Hence, it may be that reinforcing adherence to goal-related social activities in alcohol dependent patients is similarly ineffective in improving long-term outcomes.
