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Background Epidemiological studies suggest that compared with the general population, mood disorders are up to 4.7 times more prevalent in substance dependent samples. Comorbid substance use disorder (SUD) and depression has been associated with a more severe and protracted illness course and poorer treatment outcomes. Despite this, the development and assessment of behavioural interventions for treating depression among individuals with SUDs have received little empirical attention. Behavioural Activation Treatment for Depression (BATD-R) is an empirically supported treatment for depression that has shown some efficacy among substance users. This paper describes the study protocol of a parallel, single blind, randomised controlled trial to determine the efficacy and feasibility of a modified version of the BATD-R (Activate) in reducing symptoms of depression and substance dependence among individuals in residential rehabilitation (RR) and opioid substitution therapy (OST). Methods/design A sample of approximately 200 individuals with depressive symptomatology in treatment for SUD will be recruited from RR and OST services in New South Wales, Australia. Dynamic random allocation following minimisation methodology will be used to assign participants to one of two groups. The control group will receive treatment as usual (TAU), which will be the model of care provided in accordance with standard practice at participating RR and OST services. The intervention group will receive Activate, comprising 10 individual 60-min therapy sessions with a psychologist employed on the research team, in addition to TAU. Data collection will occur at baseline (pre-intervention), and 3-months and 12-months post baseline. Discussion The association between depression and substance dependence has been well documented, yet practical and effective treatments are scarce. The findings of the present study will contribute significantly to understanding the types of programs that are effective in treating this comorbidity. Trial registration This trial is registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials registry, ACTRN12613000876796 . Registered on 7 August, 2013.

This study aims to identify problems in the structure and wording of questions designed to operationalize four DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorders (AUDs): (1) use of alcohol in hazardous situations (hazard); (2) tolerance; (3) use of alcohol in larger amounts/longer periods than intended (larger/longer); (4) unsuccessful attempts to cut down or control alcohol use (quit/cut down). Ten experts appraised the questions related to these criteria in the WMH-CIDI according to a standardized checklist. These experts identified three main problems: (1) the double-barrelled nature of some of the questions; (2) definitional issues; and (3) unclear thresholds for criterion endorsement. Cognitive interviews of 100 young adult drinkers aged 18-24 were then conducted. The double-barrelled nature of the DSM-IV criteria led to their subsequent over- or under-endorsement. Key terms in the questions under investigation were defined inconsistently. There was also a large amount of variability in the thresholds at which larger/longer and quit/cut down were endorsed. Many of these problems could be linked back to the DSM-IV text. The findings raise questions as to the validity of AUD diagnoses when established via structured diagnostic interview. Further research should focus on testing alternative structure and wording of key AUD criteria to ensure accurate operationalizations of these criteria in structured diagnostic interviews. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Epidemiological studies suggest that compared with the general population, mood disorders are up to 4.7 times more prevalent in substance dependent samples. Comorbid substance use disorder (SUD) and depression has been associated with a more severe and protracted illness course and poorer treatment outcomes. Despite this, the development and assessment of behavioural interventions for treating depression among individuals with SUDs have received little empirical attention. Behavioural Activation Treatment for Depression (BATD-R) is an empirically supported treatment for depression that has shown some efficacy among substance users. This paper describes the study protocol of a parallel, single blind, randomised controlled trial to determine the efficacy and feasibility of a modified version of the BATD-R (Activate) in reducing symptoms of depression and substance dependence among individuals in residential rehabilitation (RR) and opioid substitution therapy (OST). A sample of approximately 200 individuals with depressive symptomatology in treatment for SUD will be recruited from RR and OST services in New South Wales, Australia. Dynamic random allocation following minimisation methodology will be used to assign participants to one of two groups. The control group will receive treatment as usual (TAU), which will be the model of care provided in accordance with standard practice at participating RR and OST services. The intervention group will receive Activate, comprising 10 individual 60-min therapy sessions with a psychologist employed on the research team, in addition to TAU. Data collection will occur at baseline (pre-intervention), and 3-months and 12-months post baseline. The association between depression and substance dependence has been well documented, yet practical and effective treatments are scarce. The findings of the present study will contribute significantly to understanding the types of programs that are effective in treating this comorbidity.