Perceived consequences of disseminating evidence on untreated recovery and moderate drinking after resolving alcohol concerns.

Aims: There is substantial evidence that many people recover from serious alcohol concerns without treatment and further, return to moderate alcohol consumption. The current study asks what people believe would happen if this evidence was widely disseminated.

Design and methods: Participants (N = 3994), sampled to match the demographic characteristics of people in the UK, were recruited through the Prolific website. Participants were asked a series of questions about their current and past alcohol use. All participants were also asked their beliefs as to whether it would be problematic if evidence was disseminated regarding untreated and moderate drinking recoveries from serious alcohol problems.

Results: Roughly half of the sample believed that it would make it harder for people to deal with their alcohol concerns if it was widely published that some people with serious alcohol problems can deal with their alcohol concerns without treatment and drink in a moderate/social manner after they have dealt with their concerns. Participants with prior to past year alcohol dependence were less likely to endorse that promulgating this information would be harmful compared to those who were never dependent or had lifetime alcohol dependence with past year symptoms.

Discussion and conclusion: The results of this study contribute to the question of whether it is possible to promulgate the facts that untreated and moderate drinking recoveries are common without causing unanticipated consequences.