RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To analyse the post-treatment outcomes of male substance abusers who completed a minimum of 90 days at a residential treatment facility in Barbados. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A sample of 150 male clients who completed 90 days or more of the treatment programme from 20042014 was used for the main study. A pilot study was conducted with fifteen subjects to assess the validity and reliability of the Substance Abuse Foundation Evaluation-1 (SAFE-1) questionnaire designed for the study. Correlation coefficients were used to measure the strength of association between variables, and a p-value of0.05 was used to determine statistical significance. RESULTS: To date, data on 37 respondents were used for analysis. Positive significant relationships emerged between number of days in treatment and length of sobriety, and social support, spiritual health and length of sobriety. There was no significant relationship between drug of choice and length of sobriety, nor between trauma and relapse. Self-referred clients reported longer lengths of sobriety and clients who had more than 20 years of drug use prior to treatment were more likely to stay sober longer after treatment. Clients between three and six years post treatment were more likely to request additional support. CONCLUSIONS: There are specific factors that positively impact length of sobriety after treatment. Thus, substance abuse treatment centres should seek to incorporate these factors into their programming so as to better inform their inpatient and after care services.
