title: Initial abstinence and success in achieving longer term cocaine abstinence.
abstract: This study's goals were to characterize the relationship between early and longer term cocaine abstinence and assess whether increasing early abstinence increases longer term abstinence. Results from 190 cocaine-dependent outpatients were analyzed. Participants were divided into 2 conditions: (a) those treated with community reinforcement approach (CRA) plus contingent vouchers (n = 125) and (b) those treated with control treatments (n = 65). A period of sustained abstinence during treatment was associated with significantly greater odds of posttreatment abstinence, with no evidence of differences between the 2 treatment conditions in that regard. Treatment conditions differed in that CRA plus contingent vouchers increased the proportion of participants who sustained a period of during-treatment abstinence and increased abstinence during 6-month posttreatment follow-up. Devising interventions that increase the proportion of individuals who achieve an early period of sustained abstinence may be key to increasing longer term cocaine abstinence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont, Burlington 05401, USA. stephen.higgins@uvm.edu
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Badger
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Budney
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000523:psychology