title: Novelty seeking as a predictor of treatment retention for heroin dependent cocaine users.
abstract: This study examined the relationship between novelty seeking between treatment retention and among heroin dependent cocaine users. Participants were treated with buprenorphine maintenance and contingency management. The Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire's (TPQ) Novelty Seeking scale was administered to 68 participants prior to buprenorphine induction. Demographics, mood and anxiety disorders, antisocial personality disorder, and substance use were also assessed. Variables with significant relationships with overall retention were entered into a logistic regression analysis. In addition, using a survival analysis, all variables with significant relationships with time to drop-out were entered into a multivariate proportional hazards regression with time dependent covariates. Results demonstrated that although high novelty seekers, in comparison to low novelty seekers, were more likely to drop-out by the end of treatment, they had higher retention rates during the early phases of treatment. It is suggested that buprenorphine and contingency management were viewed by participants as novel treatment components and thus facilitated high novelty seekers' success early in treatment. If replicated, results suggest that inclusion of novel treatment components might facilitate retention among this at-risk group.
authors.affiliation: Research Division on Substance Abuse, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, 2761 E. Jefferson, Detroit, MI 48207, USA. thelmus@gopher.chem.wayne.edu
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Helmus
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Downey
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Arfken
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Schuster
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002047:Buprenorphine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009294:Narcotics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010352:Patient Dropouts / Q000523:psychology*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D009294:Narcotics; D002047:Buprenorphine