Abstract
BackgroundThis study describes early treatment drug use status and associated clinical characteristics in a diverse sample of patients entering outpatient substance abuse psychosocial counseling treatment. The goal is to more fully characterize those entering treatment with and without active use of their primary drug in order to better understand associated treatment needs and resilience factors.MethodsWe examined baseline data from a NIDA Clinical Trials Network (CTN) study (Web-delivery of Treatment for Substance Use) with an all-comers sample of patients (N = 494) entering 10 outpatient treatment centers. Patients were categorized according to self-identified primary drug of abuse (alcohol, cocaine/stimulants, opioids, marijuana) and by baseline drug use status (positive/negative) based on urine testing or self-reports of recent use (alcohol). Characteristics were examined by primary drug and early use status.ResultsClassified as drug-negative were 84%, 76%, 62%, and 33% of primary opioid, stimulant, alcohol, and marijuana users; respectively. Drug-positive versus -negative patients did not differ on demographics or rates of substance abuse/dependence diagnoses. However, those negative for active use had better physical and mental health profiles, were less likely to be using a secondary drug, and were more likely to be attending 12-step self-help meetings.ConclusionsEarly treatment drug abstinence is common among substance users entering outpatient psychosocial counseling programs, regardless of primary abused drug. Abstinence (by negative UA) is associated with better health and mental health profiles, less secondary drug use, and more days of 12-step attendance. These data highlight differential treatment needs and resiliencies associated with early treatment drug use status.Trial registrationNCT01104805.
Highlights
This study describes early treatment drug use status and associated clinical characteristics in a diverse sample of patients entering outpatient substance abuse psychosocial counseling treatment
A recently completed study within the National Institute on Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (NIDA CTN 0044; WEB-TX) enrolled a large “all-comers” sample of substance users seeking treatment at 10 regionally diverse outpatient psychosocial counseling programs for an array of specific primary substance use problems; including problems associated with alcohol, cocaine/stimulants, opioids, marijuana
Data is collapsed across primary drug use and baseline positive/negative categories because no differences were found on any demographic variable shown for drug-positive versus -negative participants within each primary drug category or within the drug-positive versus -negative samples overall
Summary
This study describes early treatment drug use status and associated clinical characteristics in a diverse sample of patients entering outpatient substance abuse psychosocial counseling treatment. A recently completed study within the National Institute on Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (NIDA CTN 0044; WEB-TX) enrolled a large “all-comers” sample of substance users seeking treatment at 10 regionally diverse outpatient psychosocial counseling programs for an array of specific primary substance use problems; including problems associated with alcohol, cocaine/stimulants, opioids, marijuana. This large and diverse sample provides the opportunity to obtain a comprehensive profile of pre- and early-treatment behavioral health, substance use, and behavioral resilience factors among a large and diverse sample of substance users and to relate these variables to drug use status (active-use versus abstinence) shortly after treatment entry. Such information has the potential to inform providers about patients’ needs and challenges when initiating treatment in order to better tailor care for those needs
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