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Alcohol Use among Drug Abusers: Treatment Outcomes in a Therapeutic Community
Author(s) -
Leon George
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1987.tb01917.x
Subject(s) - abstinence , therapeutic community , medicine , drug , alcohol , substance abuse , opioid , psychiatry , drug abuser , substance use , addiction , biochemistry , chemistry , receptor
Male and female dropouts and graduates (N = 248) from a traditional drug‐free therapeutic community were followed 2 years after treatment. A 4‐hr face‐to‐face interview traced the social adjustment one year pre‐, through all years posttreatment. Results showed that (a) success (no crime and no opioid and/or no use of nonopioid primary drug) was maintained through 2 years of follow‐up by 34% of the dropouts and 68% of the graduates; (b) success rates were highest among opioid abusers and the lowest among primary alcohol abusers; (c) among the latter, however, abstinence rates were significantly increased and daily use of alcohol significantly decreased as did criminal involvement; (d) among the opioid abstinent group, alcohol use increased posttreatment but heavy drinking was not prominent indicating no significant shift in substance dependency. Overall, the therapeutic community appears most effective for opioid abusers but has a clear impact on a considerable number of those primarily involved with alcohol and other substance use.