Contingency management of reliable attendance of chronically unemployed substance abusers in a therapeutic workplace.
The Therapeutic Workplace is an effective drug abuse treatment that integrates abstinence reinforcement into a work setting by using a salary that drug abusers earn for work. Drug abuse patients are trained and hired to become data entry operators in a Therapeutic Workplace business. Despite the opportunity to earn a high wage, participants frequently arrive at work late and fail to work complete shifts. In the present study, a contingency management intervention to promote consistent and reliable attendance was evaluated in 4 participants. Participants were not allowed to work on days that they arrived late, and their pay was temporarily reduced each time they arrived late at work or failed to complete a work shift. A within-subject reversal design showed that the intervention increased the frequency with which participants arrived at work on time and completed work shifts.
Wong
Conrad J
CJ
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. cwong1@jhmi.edu
Dillon
Erin M
EM
Sylvest
Christine E
CE
Silverman
Kenneth
K
D000328:Adult; D004526:Efficiency; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D010349:Patient Compliance; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013808:Therapeutic Community; D014478:Unemployment / Q000523:psychology*