NCJ Number
175183
Journal
Substance Use and Misuse Volume: 33 Issue: 12 Dated: 1998 Pages: 2441-2467
Date Published
1998
Length
27 pages
Annotation
One thousand thirty-eight drug abusers who were newly admitted to 15 methadone maintenance clinics in New York City between January 1989 and December 1990 were studied for up to 3 years in treatment or until their discharge from treatment to determine their patterns of heroin and cocaine use during drug treatment.
Abstract
Data on each participant came from the medical charts. Urinalysis at the clinic was used as an objective measure of drug use. Heroin and cocaine use was measured by the proportion of positive urine samples during each 3-month period after clinic admission. The research used cluster analysis to examine the data. Results revealed distinct groups with very different heroin and cocaine usage patterns during treatment. About 80 percent of the participants either started in or transitioned into a low-heroin-use group; 50 percent either started in or transitioned into a low-cocaine-use group during treatment. In addition, one- third of the participants used cocaine extensively during treatment. Findings indicated that certain groups at high risk for poor outcomes should receive more intensive services immediately after intake; these groups include younger persons, those with no recent employment, those involved in the criminal justice system, and those dependent on multiple drugs. Greater therapeutic attention to those groups could further increase the already substantial success rates of methadone programs. Tables, figures, author biographies and photographs, and 45 references (Author abstract modified)