To improve outcomes for treatment of drug abuse, it is necessary to use interventions that can motivate clients to attend treatment and initiate and sustain abstinence. This study in counseling-based drug-free clinics evaluated the effectiveness of abstinence-based incentives considerably lower in cost than those typically used in research clinics. The primary aim was to determine whether introduction of abstinence-based incentives targeting (a) drug abstinence and (b) patient retention into usual care improves these treatment outcomes, compared to usual care alone. 415 cocaine or methamphetamine users from eight counseling-based outpatient drug-free clinics were randomly assigned to receive usual care plus abstinence-based incentives or to receive usual care alone for 12 weeks.
Principal Investigator(s)
Maxine Stitzer, Ph.D.
5510 Nathan Shock Drive
Suite 1500
Baltimore, MD 21224
United States
Participating Sites
- HARBEL Prevention and Recovery Center, Maryland
- Liberation Programs, Inc., Connecticut
- Matrix Institute on Addictions, California
- Arapahoe House, Colorado
- Arapahoe/Douglas Mental Health Network, Colorado
- Circle Park Behavioral Health Services, South Carolina