Specific Populations
Pregnant and parenting people
CM has been found to be an effective smoking cessation intervention for pregnant and parenting women.
Kock, L. S., Erath, T. G., Coleman, S. R. M., Higgins, S. T., & Heil, S. H. (2023). Contingency management interventions for abstinence from cigarette smoking in pregnancy and postpartum: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Preventive Medicine, 176, 107654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107654
Higgins, S. T., Bernstein, I. M., Washio, Y., Heil, S. H., Badger, G. J., Skelly, J. M., Higgins, T. M., & Solomon, L. J. (2010). Effects of smoking cessation with voucher-based contingency management on birth outcomes. Addiction, 105(11), 2023–2030.
Sexual minority men
CM has also been adapted and found to be effective as an intervention for sexual minority men who use methamphetamine.
Blair, C. S., Gandhi, M., Shoptaw, S., Blades, C., & Clark, J. L. (2023). Contingency Management for Integrated Harm Reduction Among Men Who Have Sex with Men Who Use Methamphetamine in Los Angeles: A Pilot Assessment. AIDS Behav, 27(6), 1962–1971. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-022-03929-6
Youth
Evidence for CM for youth is limited mostly because it has not been widely studied. The evidence for CM for youth comes primarily from studies focused on reducing cannabis use. However, there is no reason to think it would not be effective for other substances.
Oluwoye, O., Puzia, M., Stokes, B., Fraser, E. R., Stokes, S., Siddiqi, K., & Roll, J. M. (2025). Proof-of-concept pilot study on the integration of a contingency management model to address substance use among individuals enrolled in early intervention programs for psychosis. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 19(4), e70037.
Stanger, C., Ryan, S. R., Scherer, E. A., Norton, G. E., & Budney, A. J. (2015). Clinic- and home-based contingency management plus parent training for adolescent cannabis use disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 54(6), 445–453.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2015.02.009
Henggeler, S. W., Cunningham, P. B., Rowland, M. D., Schoenwald, S. K., & Associates. (2011). Contingency management for adolescent substance abuse: A practitioner's guide. Guilford Press
People with HIV
CM has been used to support a variety of behaviors related to helping people with HIV, including post-exposure prophylaxis adherence, HAART adherence, viral suppression and substance abstinence.
Cunningham, C. O., Arnsten, J. H., Zhang, C., Heo, M., Bachhuber, M. A., Jost, J. J., Grossberg, R., Stein, M. R., & Sohler, N. L. (2020). Abstinence-reinforcing contingency management improves HIV viral load suppression among HIV-infected people who use drugs: A randomized controlled trial. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 216, 108230.
Silverman, K., Holtyn, A. F., Rodewald, A. M., Siliciano, R. F., Jarvis, B. P., Subramaniam, S., Leoutsakos, J.-M., Getty, C.-A., Ruhs, S., Marzinke, M. A., & Fingerhood, M. (2019). Incentives for viral suppression in people living with HIV: A randomized clinical trial. AIDS and Behavior, 23(9), 2337–2346. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-019-02592-8
Landovitz, R. J., Fletcher, J. B., Shoptaw, S., & Reback, C. J. (2015). Contingency management facilitates the use of postexposure prophylaxis among stimulant-using men who have sex with men. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 2(1), ofu114.
Sorensen JL, Haug NA, Delucchi KL, et al. Voucher reinforcement improves medication adherence in HIV-positive methadone patients: a randomized trial. Drug and alcohol dependence, 88(1), 54–63.
People with co-occurring Serious Mental Illness
CM has demonstrated effectiveness in helping people with co-occurring Serious Mental Illness (SMI) change stimulant and alcohol use.
McDonell, M. G., Leickly, E., McPherson, S., Skalisky, J., Srebnik, D., Angelo, F., Vilardaga, R., Nepom, J. R., Roll, J. M., & Ries, R. K. (2017). A randomized controlled trial of ethyl glucuronide-based contingency management for outpatients with co-occurring alcohol use disorders and serious mental illness. American Journal of Psychiatry, 174(4), 370–377. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.16050627
McDonell, M. G., Srebnik, D., Angelo, F., McPherson, S., Lowe, J. M., Sugar, A., Short, R. A., Roll, J. M., & Ries, R. K. (2013). Randomized controlled trial of contingency management for stimulant use in community mental health patients with serious mental illness. American Journal of Psychiatry, 170(1), 94–101.