title: The social networks of drug abusers before and after treatment.
abstract: Changes in the social networks of a sample of 38 drug abusers are studied from pretreatment to 1 and 3 months following treatment. Overall network composition changed to include fewer drug users and fewer long-term acquaintances. While the pretreatment networks of those who used opiates and those who did not use opiates in the follow-up period were virtually the same, the posttreatment networks of opiate abusers contained greater social influence toward drug use following treatment. Implications for treatment are discussed.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D013808:Therapeutic Community