Table 1 Main characteristics of identified publications
Authors, year | Study | Participants | ABM intervention | Outcomes | Findings | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Â | Design; country | Characteristics | Substance use disorder | N | Gender; mean age | Method | Amount of sessions | Duration | AB measure | Symptom measures | Â |
Attwood et al., 2008 [21] | Randomised trial; 2 groups (attend and avoid); UK | Current smokers, smoking at least 5 cigarettes per day | Nicotine | 54 | 56% male; 22 | Modified visual probe task (pictures; 500 ms) | 1 | – | Visual probe task (pictures; 500 ms) | FTND; QSU-Brief | AB at baseline; sig. changes of AB in avoid group; sig. difference in subjective craving between attend and avoid group in males only |
Begh et al., 2015 [22] | Double-blind randomised controlled trial; 2 groups (ABM and placebo); UK | Current smokers, smoking at least 10 cigarettes a day | Nicotine | 118 | –; 45 | Modified visual probe task (pictures; 500 ms) | 5 | 5 weeks | Visual probe task (pictures; 500 ms); pictorial Stroop task | MPSS-C; abstinence; time until relapse | No AB at baseline; no sig. changes of AB; no difference between groups in craving; abstinence and time until relapse |
Charles et al., 2015 [37] | Non-randomised trial; 4 groups (patient and healthy controls, both assigned to either ABM or placebo); UK | Opiate users in treatment prescribed a substitute medication; healthy controls | Opiate | 44 | Mainly male; 38–45 (reported per group) | Modified visual probe task (pictures) | 1 | Unclear | Visual probe task (pictures; 200, 500 ms) | Subjective craving (3 VAS scales) | No AB at baseline; no sig. effect on AB or craving |
Cox et al., 2015 [35] | Randomised trial; 4 groups (ABM, motivational intervention, ABM + motivational intervention, control group); UK | Adults drinking above the UK Department of Health cut-off of healthy drinking | Alcohol | 148 | 49% male; 29 | Alcohol Attention-Control Training Programme (pictures) | 4 | 4Â weeks | Alcohol Stroop task (words) | DRQ; SIP; RTCQ | AB at baseline and changes of AB not reported; alcohol consumption reduced in ABM group |
Elfeddali et al., 2016 [23] | Randomised trial with 2 groups (ABM and placebo); Netherlands | Adults smoking on daily basis for at least 1Â year | Nicotine | 434 | 31% male; 41 | Modified visual probe task (web-based; pictures; 500Â ms) | 6 | Within 2Â weeks | Visual probe task (pictures; 500Â ms) | FTND; craving; intention to quit smoking | AB at baseline; no sig. changes of AB; effects on abstinence in subsample of heavy smokers |
Fadardi and Cox, 2009 [13] | Non-randomised trial with 3 groups (social drinkers, harmful drinkers, hazardous drinkers); UK | Social, hazardous, and harmful adult drinkers | Alcohol | 40; 68; 92 | 14% male, 28% male, 87% male; 30, 23, 41 | Alcohol Attention-Control Training Programme (pictures) | 0; 2; 4 | 4Â weeks | Alcohol Stroop task (words) | RTCQ; TAAD; SIP | AB at baseline (larger in harmful and hazardous drinkers than in social drinkers); sig. changes of AB in harmful and hazardous drinkers; harmful drinkers showed reduced alcohol consumption and increased readiness to change |
Field and Eastwood, 2005 [24] | Randomised trial with 2 groups (attend and avoid); UK | Adult heavy drinkers, drinking at least 14 units (women) or 21 units (men) of alcohol per week on average | Alcohol | 40 | 50% male; 22 | Modified dot probe task (pictures; 500 ms) | 1 | – | Visual probe task (pictures; 500 ms) | AUDIT; DAQ; craving (pre/post training); taste test | No AB at baselinea; sig. changes of AB in avoid group; no effects on urge to drink and desire for alcohol; attend group consumed more alcohol than avoid group in taste test |
Field et al., 2007 [33] | Randomised trial with 3 groups (attend, avoid, and control); UK | Adults drinking above the UK Department of Health ‘safe’ cut-off of healthy drinking | Alcohol | 60 | 43% male, 43% male, 67% male; 22, 22, 26 | Modified dot probe task (pictures; 500 ms) | 1 | – | Visual probe task (pictures; 500 ms); alcohol Stroop task (words) | Alcohol use disorders identification test; DAQ; urge to drink; taste test | No AB at baseline; sig. changes of AB in avoid group without generalisation to new stimuli and different task; no group difference in alcohol consumption, urge to drink, and consumption of beer in taste test |
Kerst and Waters, 2014 [25] | Randomised trial with 2 groups (ABM and control group); US | Current smokers, smoking 10 or more cigarettes per day for the past 2Â years | Nicotine | 60 | 50% male; 43 | Modified dot probe task (pictures; 500Â ms) | 21 (3 each day for 7Â days) | 1Â week | Visual probe task (pictures; 500Â ms) | QSU; craving; cigarettes smoked per day; physical measures | AB at baseline; sig. changes of AB in ABM group; no effect on smoking behaviour; sig. effect on cued craving but not on non-cued craving in ABM group |
Lee and Lee, 2015 [26] | Randomised trial with 2 groups (ABM and psychoeducation); South Korea | Adult problem drinkers as identified with the AUDIT | Alcohol | 43 | 40% male; 22 | Modified dot probe task (pictures; 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000 ms) |  | – | Free-viewing task with eye-tracker (pictures; 1000 ms) | Consumed alcohol during last month; AAAQ; AUDIT; RTCQ | AB at baseline; sig. changes of AB in ABM group; no effect on readiness to change |
Lopes et al., 2014 [34] | Randomised trial with 3 groups (3 sessions ABM, 1 session ABM and placebo); Brazil | Adult smokers from a smoking cessation programme, smoking at least 5 cigarettes a day | Nicotine | 67 | 65% male; 45 | Modified dot probe task (pictures; 50, 500, and 2000Â ms) | 1 or 3 | 2Â weeks | Visual probe task (pictures; 50, 500, 2000Â ms) | FTND; level of carbon monoxide; Smoking Urge-Brief | AB at baseline; sig. changes of AB in all groups after 24Â h; reduction of AB maintained for 6Â months after 3 sessions of ABM; no effect on craving and number of smoked cigarettes |
Mayer et al., 2016 [27] | Randomised trial with 2 groups (ABM and placebo); US | Treatment-seeking adults diagnosed with cocaine use disorder used in at least 4 of prior 30Â days | Opiate | 40 | 63% male; 38 | Modified dot probe task (pictures; 200, 500Â ms) | 5 | 4Â weeks | Visual probe task (pictures; 200, 500Â ms) | Cocaine use; CCQ-G; CSSA; FTND; BIS; AUDIT; BDI-2; STAI-T | No AB at baseline; no sig. changes of AB; no effect on craving, or drug use behaviour |
McGeary et al., 2014 [28] | Randomised trial with 2 groups (ABM and placebo); US | Heavy drinking students as identified with the AUDIT | Alcohol | 41 | 100% male; 19 | Modified dot probe task with words (500Â ms) | 8 | 4Â weeks | Not assessed | DHQ | No AB at baseline reported an no changes in AB assessed; reduced amount of alcohol consumption in ABM group |
McHugh et al., 2010 [29] | Randomised trial with 2 groups (ABM and placebo); US | Adult smokers, smoking at least 10 cigarettes a day | Nicotine | 64 | 65% male; 38 | Modified dot probe task (pictures; 500 ms) | 1 | – | Visual probe task (pictures; 500 ms) | FTND; TLFB; QSU-Brief | No AB at baseline; no sig. changes of AB; no effect on craving |
Schoenmakers et al., 2007 [30] | Randomised trial with 2 groups (ABM and placebo); Netherlands | Heavy drinking students as identified with a self-report questionnaire | Alcohol | 106 | 100% male; 21 | Modified dot probe task (pictures; 500 ms) | 1 | – | Visual probe task (pictures; 500 ms); flicker task | Preference test; craving | No AB at baselinea; smaller AB in ABM group compared with control group at post-test without generalisation; no effect on craving and preference test |
Schoenmakers et al., 2010 [31] | Randomised trial with 2 groups (ABM and placebo); Netherlands | Adults diagnosed with alcohol dependence | Alcohol | 43 | 77% male; 45 | Modified dot probe task (pictures; 200, 500Â ms) | 5 | 3Â weeks | Visual probe task (pictures; 200, 500Â ms) | DAQ; Time to relapse | No AB at baselinea; sig. changes of AB in ABM group; no effect on craving, but time until relapse longer in ABM group |
Wiers et al., 2015 [36] | Randomised trial with 5 groups (4 experimental conditions and one placebo group); Netherlands | Heavy drinking adults as identified with the AUDIT | Alcohol | 314 | -; 48 | Alcohol Attention Control Training Programme | 4 | 2–14 days | – | Alcohol consumption; craving; RCQ | No AB at baseline and changes in AB assessed; reduction of drinking and craving, but this was found in all conditions including control group |
Ziaee et al., 2016 [32] | Randomised trial with 2 groups (ABM + TAU and TAU only); Iran | Adults undergoing methadone maintenance therapy | Opiate | 48 | 100%; 33 in experimental group, 39 in control group | Drug attention control training (words and pictures) | 3 | 2Â weeks | Drug-Stroop task (words) | SCQ; RTCQ; PSS; Persian drug temptation questionnaire | No AB at baseline reported; sig. changes of AB in ABM group; decreased doses of medicine and number of lapses and increase in readiness to change in ABM group |