Behavior Change Techniques and Mechanisms of Action: Strengths-Based Case Management and Quality of Life Among Individuals with Substance Use Disorders

Quality of Life (QoL) for individuals with substance use disorders is receiving increasing attention as the concept of “recovery” evolves. Important to QoL are multifaceted interventions such as strengths-based case management (SBCM) which link individuals with substance use disorders to needed resources that can positively impact important life areas. This chapter reports on the results of a pilot study designed to (1) determine the feasibility of using an existing taxonomy to identify behavioral change techniques (BCTs) and mechanisms of action (MOAs) present in SBCM; (2) discuss the characteristics of SBCM identified via the taxonomy, and (3) determine how SBCM can be refined to improve its impact on QoL. The results of this study suggest it is feasible to use a taxonomy of BCT in understanding the active ingredients of SBCM. Reviewers agreed on 59.6% of the coding points, or BCT. In the 16 instances where both reviewers identified the same BCT clusters they agreed on the specific BCT 93.7% of the time. The Relationship cluster was identified by reviewers over one-third (36.5%) of the time among 17 BCT clusters. The primary role of relationship in SBCM raises questions about the specific strategies that should be included among that group.