Retention in selected therapeutic communities for polydrug abusers
Description
This research identified predictors of retention in drug treatment programs through the construction of a path analysis model. Three treatment modalities were examined: a traditional therapeutic community, a sectarian-modified therapeutic community, and a religious-modified therapeutic community. Information on retention in treatment for 90 days was obtained on a systematic sample of one hundred residents admitted for polydrug abuse in these long-term therapeutic communities. Retention was the dependent variable. There were four categories of predictor variables representing: (1) resident-fixed variables (i.e. age, race, gender); (2) resident-dynamic variables (i.e. psychological functioning); (3) treatment-entry variables (i.e. previous treatment and illegal activity); and (4) program variables (i.e. services, staff characteristics). Retention hypotheses were analyzed through analysis of variance and path analysis. The traditional therapeutic community led to longer retention than the modified therapeutic community $(p = .009).$ Religious-modified therapeutic communities were more successful at retaining residents than the modified-sectarian variation. The path analysis determined that the provision of ancillary services, specifically child care and vocational rehabiliation services, was the only variable found to have a direct effect on predicting longer retention. Other variables, including poor health, high levels of mental distress, fewer treatment episodes, and being in the mid-thirties and male, had an indirect effect on predicting longer retention. Future research should address therapeutic interventions for high-risk groups, including African Americans, younger residents in their teens and twenties, those reporting high levels of mental distress, and women