NCJ Number
198934
Journal
Journal of Maintenance in the Addictions Volume: 2 Issue: 1/2 Dated: 2003 Pages: 65-85
Date Published
2003
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This exploratory study collected data on the characteristics of the daily activities of 18 inner-city cocaine-dependent methadone patients, with attention to the association between certain activities and cocaine and other drug use.
Abstract
Data were obtained on when during the day various activities occurred, in what context, and any associations between the activity and cocaine or other drug use. The daily-activities questionnaire that was developed had as its main component a 24-hour grid on which subjects reported what they did from the time they got out of bed in the morning until they went to sleep at night. Patients were administered the questionnaire across four occasions and were requested to report on each of 9 days. Codes were constructed for drug and non-drug activities during each 24-hour period. The analyses focused on identifying the most frequent daily activities (dividing them into drug and non-drug categories) and examining how the level of activity varied on a daily and/or an hourly basis. None of the subjects were "officially" employed at the time of the study, although a few of the subjects reported a few instances of working "off the books." The most frequent daily activities were sleeping, watching TV, substance and/or alcohol use, socializing, food preparation/eating, and attending the methadone program. On days cocaine was used, the mean number of hours spent smoking crack, sniffing, and/or injecting was 2.2. Drug usage was highest on Saturday and the lowest on Sunday. Cocaine use occurred over most of the day, increasing after 5 p.m. and remaining elevated until about midnight. In addition to substance abuse, the patients' daily activities were limited to mostly passive behaviors. This study documented the social impoverishment of the lives of these cocaine-using patients; their need for more productive, stimulating activities is clear. Apparently methadone maintenance alone is not sufficient treatment. Legitimate opportunities must be provided for lifestyle change, notably vocational rehabilitation. 6 tables and 32 references