Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Affecting Drinking in Daily Life

ABSTRACT More research is needed on the effects of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills on alcohol use. Even less is known about how the use of DBT skills affects drinking in the daily lives of individuals receiving treatment. The present study aims to examine the effects of DBT skills on daily quantity of drinks consumed using DBT diary cards. Forty-eight participants were recruited from a partial hospitalization program. DBT skill domains and daily quantity of drinks consumed were measured using the program’s DBT diary card. Multilevel modeling procedures were used to examine the effects of each DBT skills domain and total DBT skills used on the same and next-day quantity of drinks consumed when controlling for age and length of stay. Previous-day mindfulness skills were the only predictor to achieve significance when applying a p-value correction. Prior to a p-value correction same-day emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills were associated with decreases in drinking. Individual DBT skills may be associated with decreases in drinking behaviors and more research is needed to examine them as mechanisms of behavior change.