title: The role of family history in addiction severity and treatment response.
abstract: This study examined the relationship between familial history of substance use and addiction severity and treatment outcomes of opiate-dependent patients. The sample was comprised of 281 methadone maintenance patients at a VA or community-based clinic. Using the family history section of the Renard Diagnostic Interview, three familial risk groups were identified based on patients' self-report of their relatives' substance use. The three groups considered both the number and type (e.g., first vs. second degree) of biological relatives with a substance use problem. These three risk groups included: (1) high risk (HR, n = 111), (2) medium risk (MR, n = 80), and (3) low risk (LR, n = 90). HR patients reported a history of more severe asocial behavior at baseline and they reported more medical problems and a greater degree of concurrent alcohol use both prior to and after 6 months of treatment compared to LR patients. In addition, the HR group reported more family/social problems at baseline compared to the MR and LR group and both HR and MR patients reported more psychological problems than LR patients after 6 months of treatment. However, when accounting for baseline differences, the regression analyses demonstrated that familial risk was not predictive of drug treatment outcomes after 6 months of methadone maintenance treatment.
authors.affiliation: Treatment Research Center, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. coviello_d@mail.trc.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Donna M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Coviello
authors.forename: Arthur I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Alterman
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Cacciola
authors.forename: Megan J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rutherford
authors.forename: Dave A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Zanis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012008:Recurrence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy* / Q000652:urine