The authors provide details about a research study into the impacts of behavioral couple’s therapy compared with individual-based treatment condition, for married or cohabiting female drug-abusing patients.
This report describes a study in which 75 married or cohabiting female drug-abusing patients were randomly assigned to either a behavioral couple’s therapy condition (BCT), which consisted of group, individual, and behavioral couples therapy sessions, or to an equally intensive individual-based treatment condition (IBT), which consisted of group and individual counseling. During most of the one-year follow-up, compared with participants who received IBT, those who received BCT reported the following: fewer days of substance use; longer periods of continuous abstinence; lower levels of alcohol, drug, and family problems; and higher relationship satisfaction. However, differences in relationship satisfaction and number of days of substance use dissipated over the course of the post-treatment follow-up period and were not significantly different by the end of one year. Publisher Abstract Provided