title: Contingent take-home incentive: effects on drug use of methadone maintenance patients.
abstract: This study examined contingent methadone take-home privileges for effectiveness in reducing on-going supplemental drug use of methadone maintenance patients. Fifty-three new intakes were randomly assigned to begin receiving take-home privileges after 2 consecutive weeks of drug-free urines or to a noncontingent procedure in which take-homes were delivered independently of urine test results. The contingent procedure produced more individuals with at least 4 consecutive weeks of abstinence (32% vs. 8%); 28% of noncontingent subjects also achieved abstinence after shifting to the contingent procedure. Lower baseline rate of drug-free urines was strongly associated with successful outcome, whereas the type of drug abused (cocaine vs. benzodiazepines) did not influence outcomes. Findings support a recommendation for using contingent take-home incentives to motivate abstinence during methadone maintenance treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Francis Scott Key Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland 21224.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Stitzer
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Iguchi
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Felch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008691:Methadone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009042:Motivation; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology; D012646:Self Administration / Q000523:psychology*; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection
chemical_list: D008691:Methadone