RECOVERY HOUSING AND DRUG ABUSE TREATMENT OUTCOMES

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DESCRIPTION: (Applicant's Abstract) Removing drug abusers from drug supplies and drug-related stimuli may set the stage for better outcomes during cessation attempts. Rent support in a drug-free recovery house can accomplish this goal. Further, since housing is often a desirable commodity to impoverished urban drug abusers, abstinence-contingent access to housing could serve as a powerful motivator. This project evaluates the abstinence-contingent rent support component of an intensive outpatient treatment for inner city i.v. heroin abusers. The other components of the intensive treatment further utilize principles of contingency management to motivate abstinence and teach skills needed to obtain employment and build other aspects of a drug-free life. Preliminary data indicate that the full multi component treatment package effectively prevents relapse when delivered to inner city heroin abusers exiting a brief inpatient detoxification. The present project will examine drug use and other psychosocial outcomes for this same population at 1, 3, 6, 12 and 18 months following random assignment to abstinence-contingent housing, contingent intensive outpatient treatment, both or neither (usual care community treatment referral condition). The project will provide valuable new information obtained in a rigorous experimental design relevant to treatment services delivery for inner city heroin abusers. The project utilized existing models of drug abuse treatment (i.e. intensive outpatient) and existing community housing resources such that findings could be adopted and utilized by other programs working with this target population. Thus, the project has both scientific value for services research and practical value for clinical application.