Stress Response in Opioid Use Disorder

Not Applicable

Completed

Interventions: Behavioral: Psychoeducational Control
Behavioral: Affect Labelling
Behavioral: Affect Regulation

Brief Summary: Opioid use disorder is a major public health problem. Although there are effective treatments for this disorder, many people still relapse and thus there is a need for new treatments to improve outcomes. People who have a strong emotional and physical response to stress are at a higher risk of relapse. The goal of this project is to test the effect of strategies to reduce response to stress in people diagnosed with opioid use disorder. Men and women diagnosed with opioid use disorder will be recruited for a one-session study. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three brief instructional conditions followed by a brief laboratory stress test. Investigators hypothesize that, compared to education about stress, brief strategies to help people cope with negative emotions will reduce responses to stress and increase tolerance of stress. If this hypothesis is supported, it will inform the development of new treatments to improve outcome in opioid use disorder.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

major psychiatric or medical condition that would interfere with the ability to complete study procedures
current opioid withdrawal
presence of another current substance use disorder at a severity requiring acute treatment
endocrine disease or current steroid prescription
opioid-positive urine drug screen or breath alcohol test on the data or enrollment (not including prescribed medications)

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Psychoeducational Control	Psychoeducational Control	-
Affect Labelling Condition	Affect Labelling	-
Affect Regulation Condition	Affect Regulation	-

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Negative Affect	Change measured over 2 time points during this 1-session study experiment (from start of a stress induction task to completion; approximately 10-15 minutes).	Negative affect will be measured using the Negative Affect Subscale of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. This is a 10-item self-report measure on which respondents rate how strongly they are experiencing negative emotion. The range of scores is 10-50, with higher scores representing higher negative affect.
Distress Tolerance	Time-to-event outcome; during this 1-session study, this will measure time to outcome (discontinuation of task) from time of initiation of the stress induction task up to a maximum of 15 minutes later.	Distress tolerance will be measured using the Computerized Mirror Tracing Persistence Task. This is a computer-based task in which participants trace a mirror on the screen using the cursor. Participants are asked to persist at the task for as long as possible. Time to discontinuation is used as a measure of distress tolerance (in seconds). Longer duration reflects better tolerance of distress.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Cortisol Response	Change measured over 2 time points during this 1-session study (from start of stress induction task to 30 minutes after completion; approximately 40-45 minutes).	Cortisol levels will be measured using saliva samples. Salivary cortisol levels are measured on a continuous scale (micrograms/deciliter).
Change in Skin Conductance Level	Change measured over 2 time points during this 1-session study (prior to and during the stress induction task; approximately 10-15 minutes).	Skin conductance level is a physiological outcome that will be measured using electrodes placed on participants fingers, connected to a Biopac MP150 system with an ECG amplifier. Change will be measures by subtracting the maximum value during the stress task from the value at the end of a baseline recording.
Change in Opioid Craving	Change measured over 2 time points during this 1-session study (immediately prior to and at the completion of the stress induction task; approximately 10-15 minutes).	Self-report of opioid craving will be measured using the Opioid Craving Scale, a 3-item measure, with a range of 0-30, with higher scores representing strong opioid craving.