Improving social cognition in individuals with substance use disorders through the E-motional training program: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND Individuals with Substance Use Disorders (SUD) may exhibit impairments in social cognition (SC), but few interventions are known to improve it. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of E-Motional Training (ET®), an online self-training program for SC, in a sample of individuals with SUD.

METHODS This randomized controlled trial included 47 outpatients diagnosed with SUD (22 in the control group and 25 in the experimental group). The experimental group underwent 12 sessions of ET® over 3 months, while the control group received treatment as usual. Outcome measures assessed two of the most studied SC domains: emotion recognition and Theory of Mind.

RESULTS Mixed ANOVAs showed significant group ×  time interactions (pre- vs post-treatment) for total emotion recognition [F(1,46) = 4.568, p = .038] with a moderate effect size (d = 0.495), and for recognition of the basic emotion fear [F(1,46) = 4.186, p = .047] with a small effect size (d = 0.341). Post hoc analyses revealed between-group differences after treatment in these same variables (total emotion recognition: [F(1,46) = 5.114, p = .029]; fear recognition: [F(1,46) = 4.283, p = .044]), as well as pre-post differences within the experimental group for total emotion recognition [F(1,46) = 4.707, p = .035].

CONCLUSIONS The results of this pilot study suggest that the ET® intervention improves emotion recognition in individuals with SUD.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION DETAILS Clinical Trial NCT06514937.