Comparing current veterans affairs contingency management incentive structures against common alternatives on intentions to abstain from alcohol among veterans.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the current U.S. Veteran Affairs (VA) contingency management incentives (vouchers to the VA Canteen) against other incentives for inducing intentions to use alcohol. Theory indicates that other incentives, such as debit cards, could be more effective at reducing drinking intentions. Sixty U.S. Armed Forces veterans who reported hazardous alcohol use were recruited for a virtual study through Prolific crowdsourcing. Participants responded on a 0-100 Likert scale of how likely they were to abstain from drinking if offered increasing compensation by vouchers, gift cards, and restricted and unrestricted debit cards. Price sensitivity and intensity of demand between each incentive type were compared. The sample was primarily male and White, and 68.9% of participants only utilized VA Canteens once per year or less. VA vouchers did not differ significantly on demand indices from VA gift cards; however, both debit cards produced higher likelihood of intentions to abstain from drinking than either VA gift cards or vouchers. This study is the first to assess the efficacy of incentive types within the VA contingency management framework and estimate their efficacy compared with vouchers. These results indicate that unrestricted and restricted debit cards should be assessed as alternatives to Canteen vouchers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).