Relationships Between Treatment Components, Client-Level Factors, and Positive Treatment Outcomes

Abstract

How different amounts and components of treatment affect substance abuse treatment outcomes is fundamentally important to evaluating current treatment practices and recommending improvements. Through a secondary analysis of data from the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study (NTIES), the present study examined the relationships between treatment components, client-level factors, and positive treatment outcomes. Several components were shown tohave significant effects on the odds of a positive outcome, over and above the effects of client background characteristics. Depending on treatment modality, these included length of stay; whether or not clients reported seeing their treatment plan hours per month in group and individual counseling; utilization ofeducational, vocational, and other ancillary services; use of antianxiety and drug and alcohol medications; and client matching. Several interactions between client-level factors and treatment components were also observed. Studylimitations are discussed, followed by implications for policy and practiceand suggestions for further research.