Table 1.
Summary of studies meeting inclusion criteria for review
| Study (first author, date) | Country | Sample (type of addiction, setting) | N | Age, M (SD) | % Female | Duration of intervention (sessions) | Comparison condition | Impulsivity measures | Main findings (summary) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defayette, 2021 | United States | Adolescents in intensive outpatient, home-based program for co-occurring substance use and mental health | 110 | 15.7 (1.2) | 43% | Not reported | Treatment as usual | DERS, impulse control difficulties subscale | Reduction in impulse control subscale associated with reduction in depressive symptoms over 12-month period; did not directly test effect of CBT on reduction in impulse control |
| Nuijten, 2016 | Netherlands | Adults with cocaine dependence enrolled in outpatient addiction treatment centers | 65 | 46.1 (8.1) | 17% | 12 weekly sessions | CBT + modafinil | BIS-11; stop-signal task; Stroop color-word task | No statistically significant changes in response inhibition from baseline to post-treatment. In both treatment conditions, there were small improvements in cognitive interference scores. Findings provide mixed evidence for CBT improving impulsivity over time |
| Patton, 2019 | Australia | Adolescent high school students in either grade 9 or 10; alcohol use prevention | 404 | 14.9 | 62% | 3 sessions | Assessment-only control | SR-S; BIS-B | Participants in either CBT intervention group had significantly higher reward drive than those in the control group at baseline, but did not change over time, nor were they moderated by condition |
| Peters, 2013 | United States | Adults with current cannabis dependence enrolled in an outpatient addiction treatment clinic | 127 | 26.1 (7.5) | 14% | 12 weekly sessions | CBT + CM adherence; CBT + CM abstinence; CM for abstinence only |
BIS-11; EDT | Delay discounting rates (k) increased from pre-treatment to post-treatment in the CBT-only condition. There was no evidence suggesting that the CBT or CM treatments improved impulsivity over time |
BIS-11 Barratt Impulsiveness Scale; BIS-B Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-Brief; CBT cognitive behavioral therapy; CM contingency management; DERS Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale; EDT Experiential Discounting Task; SR-S Sensitivity to Reward Scale