Pathological gambling among methadone patients.

This paper examines the correlates of problem gambling among a population of 220 methadone patients receiving treatment in the New York metropolitan area. Like most methadone patients, respondents were primarily adult males, ethnically mixed, of limited educational accomplishment and had long experiences with intravenous drug use. More than two-thirds of subjects had been convicted of one or more criminal offences. Analysis of the data showed seven percent of respondents to be probable pathological gamblers according to the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), indicating a high rate of gambling problems among this treatment population. Consistent with past studies, problem gamblers are more likely to be men, with histories of alcohol abuse, and with extensive criminal participation dating back to their teenage years. The data also suggested that problem gamblers who were also drug dependent were more likely to show greater evidence of social dysfunctionality compared to those who were exclusively substance abusers. More dually addicted respondents reported higher levels of recent heroin use, greater unemployment, and more reported hallucinations. Probable pathological gamblers who were substance abusers were also more likely to report being in conflict with their close friends. A multiple regression analysis suggested this to be the closest linked correlate to being a pathological gambler. Evidently, pathological gamblers create antipathy towards themselves as their compulsion to gamble is expressed; this in turn, may drive them toward further gambling, as they respond to this perceived opposition. These last preliminary findings will require further confirmation in future research.

Lifetime needle sharing: a predictive analysis.

Through understanding predictors of needle sharing, it may be possible to design AIDS prevention interventions more effectively. Data were collected from a sample of 416 patients in two New York City methadone programs in 1990. Questions were asked about needle sharing and about a battery of predictors covering 11 psychosocial domains. Based on factor analysis, these were reduced to seven factors: criminal history, antisocial characteristics, social integration, severity of psychiatric problems, current drug involvement, physical health, and personality disorders. Bivariate analyses showed that criminal involvement, antisocial characteristics, social integration, and age were significantly related to needle sharing. With the seven factors, as well as age, gender, and ethnicity simultaneously examined by means of regression analysis, it was found that criminal involvement, severity of psychiatric problems, and age were all positively associated with needle sharing. Implications for treatment are discussed.

Retention of cocaine abusers in outpatient psychotherapy.

Retention in outpatient psychotherapy of 148 crack and cocaine abusers was examined. The clients were predominantly Black (63%) and Hispanic (21%), predominantly male (87%), and the majority (66%) had completed no more than 12 years of high school. Clients entered treatment in a low-cost treatment center in New York City between June 1987 and November 1988. Forty-two percent (62) of the subjects were seen for one or two research interviews only, and did not return to begin therapy. Of the 86 persons who came to at least one therapy session, 30% (26) dropped out before the third session, 28% (24) dropped out between the third and fifth sessions, and 42% (36) were retained for six or more sessions. Short-term and longer-term retentions were analyzed separately, using a battery including sociodemographic variables, treatment history, psychiatric symptomatology, number of arrests, and drug use variables. None of the variables considered was significantly related to short-term retention. There were large although not significant differences in longer term retention by therapist. Longer-term retention was associated significantly with being White (contrasted with being Black) and being young. Nonsignificant but large associations were found between longer-term retention and having few arrests, being Hispanic (contrasted with being Black), and having low SCL-90 scores. Results are compared with previous findings about retention in drug and alcohol treatment. It is suggested that future research on retention in treatment focus less on client variables and more on therapist and program variables.

Outcomes for cocaine abusers after once-a-week psychosocial therapy.

OBJECTIVE: The authors studied the efficacy of once-weekly psychotherapy, family therapy, or group therapy led by paraprofessionals among patients with cocaine use disorders. METHOD: Of subjects who sought outpatient treatment, 168 consented to participate in the study and were each randomly assigned to one of the three forms of therapy; 122 patients were interviewed 6-12 months later. Their pre- and posttreatment scores on the Addiction Severity Index were compared. RESULTS: Significant improvements were observed for the cohort as a whole, but virtually all of the improvement was restricted to the 23 subjects (19%) who were not using cocaine at follow-up. There was a strong relationship between abstinence from cocaine use and absence of addiction-related problems, especially psychiatric symptoms and family problems. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study indicate that outpatient therapy once a week is ineffective for cocaine use disorder. The 19% abstinence rate probably represents spontaneous remission among patients with enough motivation to seek treatment, as the number of therapy sessions attended was not related to improvement. Either an intense level of outpatient contact or residential treatment followed by aftercare is probably needed, at least initially, while the patient is attempting to initiate and sustain abstinence.

Psychopathology among cocaine abusers entering treatment.

A number of different indicators of psychopathology were assessed in this study of 76 cocaine and crack abusers who entered outpatient treatment in New York City between June and December 1987. The majority (75%) had used cocaine for 4 years or more, and the majority (62%) spent over one thousand dollars a month on cocaine in the 6 months before entry into treatment. Forty-seven percent of the sample were found to be clinically depressed. Phobic disorders were the only other axis I diagnoses found in addition to depression, and all persons who were found to have phobic disorders also were diagnosed as having some form of depressive disorder. The four most common axis II diagnoses were antisocial personality (21%), passive-aggressive (21%), borderline (18%) and self-defeating (18%). Subjects were classified as falling into one of the following three categories of a newly developed "psychopathology classification": a) no diagnosed psychopathology except substance abuse or dependency; b) one or more axis II diagnoses, but no axis I diagnoses except for substance abuse or dependency; c) at least one axis I diagnosis in addition to drug disorders whether or not accompanied by an axis II diagnosis. Mean scores on subscales and total score on the SCL-90, as well as total score on the Beck Depression Inventory, were ordered by category of the classification scheme, with those having no diagnosed psychopathology except substance abuse having the lowest score and persons in the third category having the highest score.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Knowledge about and behaviors affecting the spread of AIDS: a street survey of intravenous drug users and their associates in New York City.

An informal survey of knowledge about and behaviors relevant to the spread of AIDS was conducted on the street in New York City during October 1986. The sample (n = 204) includes IV drug users (60%) and others (40%). The informal nature of the interview suggests that respondents gave "salient" answers rather than the complete answers that would be expected in a formal interview situation. A smaller proportion of respondents reported salient knowledge about drug-related transmission of AIDS than had been found in other populations, using formal interview methods. A close association was found between any accurate knowledge about spread of AIDS and likelihood of practicing one or more risk reduction behaviors. New users (persons who had been using drugs for only 1 or 2 years) were significantly less likely than others to have salient knowledge about AIDS transmission and also less likely to practice risk reduction measures.

Daily marijuana use and problem behaviors among adolescents.

Previous research by Johnston has shown that high school seniors who are daily marijuana users are distinct from the larger population of seniors in a variety of ways. This paper focuses on adolescent daily marijuana users. It replicates Johnston's work and also qualifies it in an important way. We find that level of marijuana use does not make a significant independent contribution to school problems when such critical factors as lifetime cigarette smoking, lifetime multiple drug use, whether respondent has ever used an illicit drug, rebelliousness, and gender, are taken into account. It is concluded that use of marijuana is only one element in a large and complex picture of interrelated problems and behaviors.

Onset of addiction: a first attempt at prediction.

This study attempts to identify predictors of early heroin addiction. Natives of low social class origins are, as predicted by "social structure and anomie theory," more likely to be addicted when young. However, social class has little impact on age of addiction among migrants. Blue-collar migrants are strikingly less likely than blue-collar natives to be addicted when young; a nonsignificant trend in the same direction is found for white-collar respondents. Findings are interpreted in terms of commitment to traditional values. Contrary to expectations based on Moynihan, family intactness is unrelated to age of addiction.