# Clinical Course of Alcohol Use Disorder Recovery

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA · 2024 · $603,423

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) continues to be a widespread problem with an estimated 29% of all Americans
ages 12 and up meeting DSM-5 criteria for diagnosis during their lifetime (13.9% within the past 12 months;
Grant et al., 2015). Although abstinence remains as the primary outcome for many treatment programs, such
definitions of “recovery” remain far too narrow. Recently, NIAAA disseminated a definition of recovery aimed at
addressing limitations of past research, stimulating new research, and better operationalizing recovery (NIAAA,
2020). Specifically, NIAAA defines recovery as “a process through which an individual pursues both remission
from AUD and cessation from heavy drinking.” They further go on to state that “an individual may be
considered recovered if both remission from AUD and cessation from heavy drinking are achieved and
maintained over time.” Although this new operational definition will help to organize the existing literature and
provide guidance for future research, several questions remain. First, categorization of recovery as initial,
early, sustained, and stable requires further research to establish whether such thresholds are meaningful in
both clinical practice and research. Second, the utility of heavy drinking thresholds to define recovery remains
questionable at best. Finally, the new definition does not provide a conceptual framework for which recovery is
a “process” requiring continual monitoring for clinical markers (clinical change points) that may impact recovery
status. The aim of the current application is to examine the utility and validity of this new definition within the
context of a novel theoretical model of AUD recovery. The proposed study will recruit participants seeking
treatment for AUD from the community. Participants will complete a structured clinical interview and provide
information on their current alcohol use and related behaviors. All participants will receive 12 weeks of AUD
psychotherapy and complete brief assessments at the end of each treatment session and biweekly during the
first 12-months post treatment. In addition, participants will complete in-person interviews at 3-month and 6-
month intervals post-treatment for the duration of the study (for up to 24-54 months post treatment depending
on time of enrollment). Findings from the proposed research have the potential to increase understanding of
the dynamic nature of recovery and thereby improve clinical decision-making and generate future research.
Specifically, our goal is to address the question of “Are the constructs of relapse, recurrence remission, or
recovery useful heuristics for clinical practice and research, and if so, how?” Identification of the processes
important for each type of change in clinical course may help in designing adaptive treatments that capitalize
on our current knowledge of the treatment literature. For example, people may need to use different strategies
(e.g., weighing pros/cons,...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10912575
- **Project number:** 5R01AA030005-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** STEPHEN A MAISTO
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $603,423
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-20 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10912575

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10912575, Clinical Course of Alcohol Use Disorder Recovery (5R01AA030005-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10912575. Licensed CC0.

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