Showing papers in "American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse in 1984"
TL;DR: The present findings establish that the temporal pattern of retention is orderly, predictable, and has utility for program management and treatment planning, although the phenomenon of retention itself remains to be explained.
Abstract: The present research is the first in a systematic investigation of retention in therapeutic communities (TCs). Findings are reported from an interrelated set of analyses clarifying retention rates and the temporal pattern of dropout. Retention information was obtained on all admissions to a nonrandom sample of seven traditional (long-term) TCs during February 1-August 15, 1979. Results showed that: (a) Across the seven programs, the 12-month retention rates ranged from 4 to 21%. Program differences were generally nonsignificant, (b) Less than 17% of admissions were re-admissions. Among these, however, the number of days before initial dropout was a significant predictor of long-term retention, (c) The temporal pattern of dropout was uniform across programs. Dropout was highest within the first 14 d and declined thereafter, indicating that practically all dropouts leave within 3 months. (d) Based upon rates adjusted for those who had left treatment (“survivor rates”), estimates indicated that the likelihoo...
101 citations
TL;DR: The paper will look at the different problems raised during the high dropout periods of induction, the first month of stabilization, and the later stages of maintenance of naltrexone and methods to deal with these problems.
Abstract: The pharmacologic promise of naltrexone has not been matched by therapeutic usefulness. Plagued by difficulties in the induction period and very high dropout, the drug remains limited to a very small segment of the opiate-addited population. Some programs have managed, however, to substantially improve on these problems and such strategies will be discussed. The paper will look at the different problems raised during the high dropout periods of induction, the first month of stabilization, and the later stages of maintenance. It will then focus on methods to deal with these problems. Strategies examined will include among others individual and group counseling, family and couples' therapy, and contingency contracting. Strengths and weaknesses of each of these both from our own 7 years of experience and in the literature will be examined.
68 citations
TL;DR: The present research was conducted to examine the effects of pretreatment psychiatric status and treatment duration on improvement following drug abuse rehabilitation and the general efficacy of drug-dependence treatment and the specific issue of the psychiatrically impaired drug abusers.
Abstract: The present research was conducted to examine the effects of pretreatment psychiatric status and tieatment duration on improvement following drug abuse rehabilitation. Percent improvement from admission to 6-month follow-up was measured on three criteria: drug use, employment, and criminality. Analyses of the total samples in both the Therapeutic Community (TC) and Methadone Maintenance (MM) programs indicated some quantitative differences between the two modalities but all measures showed a strong and positive relation between treatment duration and percent improvement. When patients in the two program samples were divided, on the basis of admission psychiatric status, into LOW, MID, and HIGH severity groups, different findings emerged. LOW severity patients in both programs showed the greatest absolute levels of improvement in most measures, more improvement at shorter treatment durations, and less additional improvement at longer treatment durations. MID severity patients in both programs showed the mo...
68 citations
TL;DR: Cutting across drug and comparison groups, it is found that mothers who performed poorly on interaction were likely to have poor resources for maternal functioning, and it is possible to identify meaningful subgroups of infants who were not merely quantitatively but qualitatively different in their behavioral functioning.
Abstract: As part of a longitudinal study of offspring born to substance abusers, we assessed 17 methadone-exposed and 23 comparison 4-month-old infants using the Bayley Scales, and videotaped their interaction with their mothers. In analyzing the Bayley Infant Behavior Record we found that the methadone-exposed group differed from the comparison group on motor functioning but not significantly on social or cognitive behaviors; methadone-exposed infants were more tense, active, and poorly coordinated than comparisons. Using a scale we developed, we rated communicative functioning in dyadic interactions, and related mothers' interactive performance to their psychological and psychosocial resources and infants' interactive performance to their behavioral functioning as assessed on the Bayley Infant Behavior Record. Applying a multidimensional technique, Guttman's Partial Order Scalogram Analysis by Coordinates (POSAC), we found an intriguing relationship that generalized across drug and comparison groups: greater ten...
66 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that when non-White adolescents were in families with both parents, and the father had at least a high school education, did they drink near the rate of White adolescents.
Abstract: Family structure is related to adolescents' drinking behavior differently for Blacks than Whites. Black adolescents were more likely to be heavy alcohol users when both natural parents were present, but the opposite was true for the whites. Only when non-White adolescents were in families with both parents, and the father had at least a high school education, did they drink near the rate of White adolescents. There was support of social learning theory.
54 citations
TL;DR: There does appear to be a general tendency for criminal activity to diminish over successive periods of nonaddiction and to increase irregularly over successive period of addiction.
Abstract: Although several studies have documented high levels of criminal activity among narcotic addicts, especially during periods of active addiction, few studies have delineated the types of criminal activities involved or have attempted to uncover trends in such activities over successive periods of addiction and nonaddiction in addicts' careers. In the present series of analyses, the criminal activities of 354 male narcotic addicts were categorized and traced individually over time using five, standardized, crime-days-per-year-at-risk measures in the areas of theft, violence, drug sales, deception/forgery, and other crimes. In addition, a sixth composite measure was also employed. Although large differences among addicts in patterns of criminal activity over time were much in evidence and may be useful as a basis for a criminal typology, this same heterogeneity tends to preclude definitive statements concerning addicts as a group. This caveat notwithstanding, there does appear to be a general tendency for criminal activity to diminish over successive periods of nonaddiction and to increase irregularly over successive periods of addiction. The agreement of these findings with those of earlier group analyses by the authors is discussed.
54 citations
TL;DR: It is found that certain laws and regulations do seem to play a significant role in holding down distilled spirits consumption, and the regression models developed predict a decrease of about two drinks per month per person if the state was to shift its regulatory laws from being relatively loose to being relatively strict.
Abstract: This project analyzed the impact of state regulation and control measures on per capita apparent distilled spirits consumption using a 25-year period, 1955-1980. The project was an effort to determine if statistically significant associations between regulation of spirits and per capita consumption could be found for the 48 states of the continental United States. A series of regression models was employed to obtain estimates of the effects of a set of independent variables, including alcoholic beverage control laws, price and price-related variables, and social/cultural control variables on apparent distilled spirits consumption. Most previous studies of the relationship of restrictions on spirits availability have led to a belief that control efforts have little or no impact on per capita consumption. This study was undertaken with the expectation of similar findings. What was found instead was that certain laws and regulations do seem to play a significant role in holding down distilled spirits consumption. The regression models developed predict a decrease of about two drinks per month per person if the state was to shift its regulatory laws (including the price of liquor, which is not always subject to regulation) from being relatively loose to being relatively strict. This decrease in drinking would cut down the level of consumption in the median state by nearly one-fourth.
52 citations
TL;DR: It is tentatively concluded that methadone exposure in utero has very limited teratological effects per se on the long-term development of infants, and that the pathology seen in some individual children is probably due to an interaction with other factors.
Abstract: Infants exposed to methadone in utero were compared to infants of drug-free women at 4, 8, and 12 months on two aspects of their behavior: motor coordination and attention. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how differences between the methadone and comparison infants were affected by other family and medical risk factors. No matter what the level of other risk factors, methadone infants showed poorer motor coordination at 4 months and poorer attention at 12 months as a group than comparison infants. Family risk factors, however, did modulate the strength and direction of differences between methadone and comparison infants. After 4 months, methadone infants continued to show poorer motor coordination than comparison infants only in families with poorer resources (such as low SES, maternal psychopathology and low intelligence, absence of father). Poorer early medical resources (pre- and perinatal complications) heightened the differences between methadone and comparison infants at early ages, but by the end of the first year no longer played a role in modulating the drug effect. The authors tentatively conclude that methadone exposure in utero has very limited teratological effects per se on the long-term development of infants, and that the pathology seen in some individual children is probably due to an interaction with other factors.
49 citations
TL;DR: Six case studies describe a new type of addicted health professional whose opiate abuse originated recreationally, showing how the subjects went from heavy soft drug use to opiate addiction, experienced severe longterm effects, were treated by society, and responded to treatment.
Abstract: Case studies describe a new type of addicted health professional whose opiate abuse originated recreationally . Historically, health professionals have had high rates of opiate addiction, usually viewed as an occupational hazard stemming from access and from self-treatment for pain or stresses of the medical profession. Partly because addiction in health professionals was almost always therapeutic (iatrogenic) or quasi-therapeutic (stress-related), it affected them less severely than it affected heroin addicts, whose drug abuse usually began recreationally . Now, however, because recreational drug abuse has become commonplace at American colleges since the mid-1960s, a majority of young health professionals have histories of abusing drugs and some are becoming non-therapeutically addicted. Six case studies describe this new addict type, showing how the subjects went from heavy soft drug use to opiate addiction, experienced severe longterm effects, were treated by society, and responded to treatment.
39 citations
TL;DR: The clinical and research literature is reviewed and new data from studies of Mexican-American opioid users in San Antonio are presented, finding little empirical outcome data which demonstrated that ethnic matching of therapist and client brings better results.
Abstract: Next to Blacks, Mexican-Americans are the largest ethnic minority group among the visible opioid addict population in the United States. Although commonly grouped together with Puerto Ricans and other Spanish-speaking peoples under the rubric "Hispanic," Mexican-Americans have a unique culture and ethnohistory. In this report we review the clinical and research literature and present new data from studies of Mexican-American opioid users in San Antonio. Mexican-American addicts tend to use fewer classes of illicit drugs and are less likely to use stimulants and psychedelics than Whites or Blacks. Onset of daily opioid use occurs at an early age, typically around 20, yet first voluntary admission to treatment usually occurs later than it does for other ethnic groups. Mexican-American addicts tend to be arrested more frequently and spend significantly more years in correctional institutions, but there is also evidence that they spend more time voluntarily abstinent and employed during their careers. The duration of the career is prolonged, however, and typically exceeds 20 years. Mexican-Americans prefer individual to group treatment, and are especially unlikely to participate in traditional therapeutic communities and group psychotherapies. The Mexican-American client is the least likely to complete treatment without adverse termination. The literature seems unanimous in calling for more treatment of Mexican-American addicts by Mexican-American therapists, but we found little empirical outcome data which demonstrated that ethnic matching of therapist and client brings better results.
36 citations
TL;DR: It was found that as a group the methadone-maintained women were more likely to receive public assistance, to evidence psychiatric dysfunctioning, and to be less educated (although showing no statistical difference in IQ's) than were comparison women.
Abstract: In order to examine alternatives to the hypothesis that any lasting damage to a child is caused by the direct toxic effects of fetal exposure to methadone, we designed a longitudinal, multigenerational study of the offspring of methadone-maintained women. We collected extensive data on both parents and children, hypothesizing that drugs can affect infants through a variety of causal routes. We have used a method of data analysis, POSAC, that retains the identity of individual children and families, and enables us to look at patterns of individuals' behavior over time and identify meaningful subgroups of individuals. We collected extensive information from 18 methadone-maintained and 24 comparison women. During the last trimester of pregnancy, we interviewed the women about their education, families, lifestyles, drug use, and health histories; we also assessed their psychiatric functioning and IQ's. We found that as a group the methadone-maintained women were more likely to receive public assistance, to evidence psychiatric dysfunctioning, and to be less educated (although showing no statistical difference in IQ's) than were comparison women. Similar to comparison women, two-thirds of methadone-maintained women were involved in stable relationships with male partners. The methadone-maintained women appeared committed to their methadone treatment and, in general, viewed their pregnancies in positive terms. Although as a group the methadone-maintained women possessed poorer resources for maternal functioning than the comparison group, about half the methadone-maintained women possessed resources at least adequate for maternal functioning.
TL;DR: Students in the experimental school were exposed over 3 years to teachers trained in a "generic" primary prevention program designed to deal with the affective needs of students, revealing a pattern of effects favoring students having the fewest classes with trained teachers.
Abstract: Students in the experimental school were exposed over 3 years to teachers trained in a “generic” primary prevention program designed to deal with the affective needs of students. Students were expected to benefit from this exposure by adopting more positive attitudes, behaviors, and norms with regard to themselves, peers, teachers, and school. Ninth graders in the experimental school were compared with 9th graders in a control school; both groups were pretested during the first year of this study and posttested at the end of the third year. For boys, although there was a pattern of negative treatment effects, these were probably artifacts of the research design. For girls, there was no evidence of treatment effects. Analyses within the experimental school revealed a pattern of effects favoring students having the fewest classes with trained teachers. The results are discussed in terms of problems inherent in this type of strategy for the prevention of adolescent substance abuse.
TL;DR: Frequent users of inhalers were consistently distinguished from nonusers and less frequent inhalers on a number of dimensions and were found to have significantly more family, school, legal, and peer-related problems.
Abstract: Inhalant use and related background characteristics are examined for participants in state-funded drug abuse prevention programs in Texas. Inhalant use was found to be a significant problem among Mexican-American youth in low socioeconomic neighborhoods. Frequent users of inhalers were consistently distinguished from nonusers and less frequent inhalers on a number of dimensions and were found to have significantly more family, school, legal, and peer-related problems. Areas for future research and intervention are discussed.
TL;DR: A group of 15 patients being treated for anorexia nervosa were diagnostically examined for alcoholism, it was found that 33% scored "likely" and another 27% scoring "uncertain" for alcoholism with the rest "unlikely."
Abstract: A group of 15 patients being treated for anorexia nervosa were diagnostically examined for alcoholism. Using Landeen's diagnostic questionnaire, it was found that 33% scored "likely" and another 27% scored "uncertain" for alcoholism with the rest "unlikely." This is a significantly higher rate than for the general population where 8.2% of those over the age of 14 are reported as problem drinkers including alcoholics. 67% of the subjects also reported drinking problems among relatives which is comparable to any group of diagnosed alcoholics. It is speculated that anorexia nervosa can be an addictive process with similarities to other addictions including alcoholism.
TL;DR: It is suggested that drinking patterns among Blacks are influenced more by internal norms originated from common cultural and socio-political characteristics than from norms associated with class affiliations in the larger society.
Abstract: The data for this research come from three independent community surveys conducted between 1979 and 1980 in the San Francisco Bay Area. All surveys followed the same sampling plan and only probability techniques were employed. Of a total of 4,150 adult respondents, 1,206 identified themselves as Blacks and are analyzed in this report. A total of 29% of the females and 16% of the males are abstainers. Frequent heavier drinkers comprise 22% of the males but only 6% of the females. Among males, heavier drinking and alcohol problems are highest among those in their thirties and, therefore, cannot be associated with a youthful lifestyle as it happens in the United States general population. Characteristics such as income, employment status, and education are not associated with drinking. Religion, however, is associated with drinking patterns, and Fundamentalists have significantly more abstainers and light drinkers than other religious groups. These findings are also discussed in the light of Black culture an...
TL;DR: In this paper, a Pragmatic Alcoholism Treatment Outcome Scale (PATOS) was proposed to measure the effect of treatment on the treatment outcome of a patient with alcohol.
Abstract: (1984). A Pragmatic Alcoholism Treatment Outcome Scale. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse: Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 125-131.
TL;DR: For a substantial group of these women there did seem to be a long-standing pattern of instability and transient living in the two years preceding their move to the shelter, and public resources invested in shelter care are much needed.
Abstract: Studies of homeless alcoholic women remain tare. Women on Skid Row in New York City were sought out at the Women's Shelter for a study of homeless women alcoholics. The findings in this study of 31 homeless alcoholic women tend to confirm an earlier study by Garrett and Bahr in most respects. A major difference relates to the population's lack of homogeneity. A life-long pattern of marginality does not exist for most of the women. All judged to be alcoholic, some lived with their families, husbands, or a male partner prior to coming to the shelter. Almost a third lived alone. Sometimes the death of someone close or other crisis precipitated homelessness. In many instances there was no apparent crisis. For a substantial group of these women there did seem to be a longstanding pattern of instability and transient living in the two years preceding their move to the shelter. Public resources invested in shelter care are much needed either for individuals whose limited resources run out or where a crisis resul...
TL;DR: The strengths of these two treatment modalities can be combined to enable narcotic addicts to taper off of methadone maintenance in a therapeutic community and remain drug-free.
Abstract: Although they developed from different backgrounds, therapeutic communities and methadone maintenance programs became major treatments of heroin abuse in the 1970s. Research published in the last 5 years demonstrates that therapeutic communities are associated with long-lasting improvements in functioning for the few drug abusers who stay in treatment at least 3 months. A principal limitation of this modality is that few patients remain in treatment long enough to acquire the changed values that produce long-lasting effects. Research on methadone maintenance continues to show that this treatment produces immediate decreases in criminality and drug abuse; however, patients who taper off of maintenance are prone to relapse. The aspects of treatment that appear to prevent relapse include minimizing withdrawal symptoms during tapering and providing support during and after completing maintenance. The strengths of these two treatment modalities can be combined to enable narcotic addicts to taper off of methado...
TL;DR: The Moos Family Environment Scale was administered to 73 addicts and found that addicts' scores supported the previous descriptions of addicts' perceived family environment, while addicts' perceptions of their family environment demonstrated significant discrepancies.
Abstract: Addicts have described their family environment as providing inadequate modeling of social and role skills, while having high expectations for achievement. These self-reports have not been compared to either the reports of other family members or observer ratings of addict families. Observer ratings are important because addicts have also described their families as having significantly less conflict than normative families. We administered the Moos Family Environment Scale (FES) to 73 addicts and found that our addicts' scores supported the previous descriptions of addicts' perceived family environment. Addicts' perceived family environment differed from normative samples. They perceived their family as providing little preparation for social roles, while expecting high achievement. When addicts' wives or mothers completed the FES (n = 27), they disagreed with the addicts' perceptions of having high expectations for achievement in the marriage or family. Relative to their mothers and wives, the addicts seemed to be insensitive to the lack of effective organization and limit setting in either their family of origin or marriage. However, the mothers and wives agreed with the addicts in reporting low levels of conflict, but behavioral ratings of the married addicts and their wives (n = 16) showed a poor correlation between the observed behavior and the couples' perceptions. Furthermore, the level of conflict appeared to be above rather than below normative samples. Thus, addicts' perceptions of their family environment demonstrated significant discrepancies from the perceptions of their wives and mothers and from ratings of their marital behavior.
TL;DR: The addicts showed early deviant behavior preceding heroin use in contrast to the socially conforming behavior of the brothers, and as adults the addicts showed gross social impairment on dimensions of employment, criminal record, marital adjustment, and other life activities.
Abstract: Childhood and adult life experiences of 50 heroin addicts are compared with those of their nonaddicted brothers. The sibling pairs came from large families with a median of six children; 45 pairs came from Mexican-American families. The median age of both addicts and brothers was 39. One-third of both addicts and brothers lost a parent before age 16. The addicts showed early deviant behavior preceding heroin use in contrast to the socially conforming behavior of the brothers. Noteworthy discrepancies appeared in the retrospective explanations offered by the addicts and the brothers of conditions leading to addiction in one and abstinence in the other. The addicts attributed the addiction versus abstinence primarily to association with different peer groups; the brothers cited this difference, but also frequently cited personality differences and other differences, thus giving more complex explanations. As adults the addicts showed gross social impairment on dimensions of employment, criminal record, marit...
TL;DR: The study showed that ex- tecatos use a variety of coping mechanisms for maintaining abstinence and for avoiding "dangerous situations" which could trigger heroin craving and relapse, and that the process of working out of addiction involves two complementary social adjustment processes termed extrication (from the tecato subculture) and accommodation (to square society).
Abstract: The Chicano heroin addict or " tecato " belongs to a subculture that profoundly influences addict behavior and personality. Life-history interviews with a subsample of 18 Southern California ex- tecatos who were abstinent from 2.3 to 24.5 years revealed that tecatos employ the metaphor of an indestructable junkie worm or " tecato gusano " living in their vicera to explain heroin relapse, and abstinence in a manner essentially consistent with learning theories of opioid addiction. The study showed that ex- tecatos use a variety of coping mechanisms for maintaining abstinence and for avoiding "dangerous situations" which could trigger heroin craving and relapse. The research also revealed that being an ex- tecato does not necessarily imply living a crime free or nondeviant lifestyle, and that the process of working out of addiction involves two complementary social adjustment processes termed (a) extrication (from the tecato subculture) and (b) accommodation (to square society). Suggestions for utilizing these findings for treatment intervention purposes are offered.
TL;DR: Typologies of drug users focused on the heroin addict of the 1960s and early 1970s generally reflected the role the addict played in the elaborate structure of the heroin copping community, but more recent typologies are based on a broader view of the addict's career.
Abstract: Initial typologies of drug users focused on the heroin addict of the 1960s and early 1970s, variously labeling him as a “cool cat” [11] or a “stand-up cat” [1]. These characterizations reflected a common belief that the heroin addict was not a victim of an inadequate personality, as conveyed in some of the clinical literature [14], but rather a person able to cope well with his environment [2, 12]. These typologies generally reflected the role the addict played in the elaborate structure of the heroin copping community [5, 10]. More recent typologies are based on a broader view of the addict's career [6–9]; the studies of “maturing out” of addicts would fall into this category [15, 16].
TL;DR: Having validated the Munich Alcoholism Test in three different countries (Germany, Spain, and Ecuador), it was determined that five of the 31 items of the test were very consistent in revealing similarities among these three alcoholic populations.
Abstract: Having validated the Munich Alcoholism Test in three different countries (Germany, Spain, and Ecuador), it was determined that five of the 31 items of the test were very consistent in revealing similarities among these three alcoholic populations.
TL;DR: In an effort to assess alcoholism service needs, the social indicators technique was employed and factor analysis was employed to derive scores spanning the space covered by the 15 variables.
Abstract: In an effort to assess alcoholism service needs, the social indicators technique was employed. Data on 15 relevant indicators were collected. A three-step analysis was performed. First, cluster/multiple discriminant analyses were conducted to obtain scores reflecting the clustering of cases. Second, factor analysis was employed to derive scores spanning the space covered by the 15 variables. Third, results of both strategies were combined to obtain an overall need index score for each area.
TL;DR: Publications relating to outcome of physicians treated for substance abuse were obtained from a computerized literature search and review of Cumulated Index Medicus for the years 1950-1982.
Abstract: Publications relating to outcome of physicians treated for substance abuse were obtained from a computerized literature search and a review of Cumulated Index Medicus for the years 1950–1982. The studies were reviewed regarding such factors as study location, sample size, presence of control groups, treatment modalities and setting, treatment duration, follow-up duration, method of determining outcome, and treatment outcome. Variations in these factors make comparisons of the studies difficult. Shortcomings in the methods of determining outcome raise questions concerning reliability of the data. Suggestions are made for further research for the assessment of treatment and outcome of substance-abusing physicians.
TL;DR: Using available data on Quebec physicians, two types of physician addicts are described according to the "two diseases model," where the disease is characterized by the search of euphoria, and as such is considered to be highly contagious and pernicious, while the other is rarely contagious and relatively lesspernicious.
Abstract: This article attempts to characterize the physician addict and to challenge the usual sociological or psychological explanations of differences and similarities among addicts. Using available data on Quebec physicians, two types of physician addicts are described according to the "two diseases model." In its first form the disease is characterized by the search of euphoria, and as such is considered to be highly contagious and pernicious, while the other is rarely contagious and relatively less pernicious.
TL;DR: Using data from a statewide survey of Illinois adults, a preliminary test of a sex role convergence hypothesis for alcohol and tranquilizer use uses a multinomial extension of logistic multiple regression and shows that females have a much higher probability of using tranquilizers rather than alcohol than men do.
Abstract: Research on adult alcohol and tranquilizer use provides strong evidence of fundamental sex differences in the use of the two types of drugs. Current explanations posited for these differences center around differential sex roles and sex role expectations. Much of the discussion of these differences suggests that as male and female roles converge, these behavioral differences should decrease. Using data from a statewide survey of Illinois adults, we provide a preliminary test of a sex role convergence hypothesis for alcohol and tranquilizer use. To do so, we use a multinomial extension of logistic multiple regression. After controlling for demographic and sex role characteristics, the results show that females have a much higher probability of using tranquilizers rather than alcohol than men do. Thus, the role convergence hypothesis is not supported for the use of these two types of drugs.
TL;DR: It is suggested that sex role expectations may structure heroin use and other social locators such as age may also delimit available career paths, lending further support to the theoretical framework employed here.
Abstract: Female addicts are typically treated as one group with similar needs and experiences. This is particularly true for Black female addicts. This study of Black men and women entering an inner-city methadone maintenance treatment program attempts to delineate (1) how Black women differ from Black men in their heroin-using careers and (2) differences among Black women in their integration of drug use and lifestyle. Findings show men and women do develop different patterns of criminal activity, drug use, family ties, and labor force participation. Further analysis using multiple discriminant techniques indicates that Black female addicts are not one homogeneous group. Conclusions based on these findings suggest that sex role expectations may structure heroin use. Other social locators such as age may also delimit available career paths, lending further support to the theoretical framework employed here.
TL;DR: Results indicate a generally low relatedness to others for the sample of addicts studied based on measures of the enduring trait associated with dependency on others and the more situational characteristic of interpersonal behavior.
Abstract: The Drug-Free Therapeutic Community (TC) and Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) modalities provide environmental conditions that are particularly well suited for examining addict personality characteristics suggested as important to the treatment of addiction. This study examines 174 addicts of two programs to determine how their relatedness to others varies with a self-selected treatment modality. Results indicate a generally low relatedness to others for the sample of addicts studied based on measures of the enduring trait associated with dependency on others and the more situational characteristic of interpersonal behavior. The MMT subsample showed greater social dependency in terms of the more enduring personality trait while the TC subsample was more interpersonally oriented based on the situational context. The absence of a relationship between the two measures suggests that there is a self-selection of treatment types which may serve to compensate for trait-related deficiencies or liabilities in addicts, and that the techniques employed by the approaches interact with these personality attributes that are probably accrued in the midst of learning how to cope with troubled familial settings and life as an addict.
TL;DR: The decision to recommend alcoholism treatment for convicted drinking drivers is examined for a treatment program in Western New York and the Mortimer-Filkins score and the blood alcohol concentration at the time of arrest were the best discriminating variables.
Abstract: The decision to recommend alcoholism treatment for convicted drinking drivers is examined for a treatment program in Western New York. A total of 2,061 client files were abstracted for these analyses. The Mortimer-Filkins score and the blood alcohol concentration at the time of arrest were the two best discriminating variables in the decision to recommend treatment in these analyses. When these scores were high, additional information was not needed. However, when these scores were in the low or midranges, other variables became crucial to the decision-making process. Further investigation of variables not available in these analyses is needed to determine the decision-making process for clients with low or midrange Mortimer-Filkins and BAC scores.