ICM is a promising intervention for managing the chronic nature of substance dependence among women receiving TANF. Future research should refine long-term care strategies-such as ICM-that address the chronic nature of substance dependence among low-income populations.

Negative consequences are an important component of the substance use change process, yet no standardized measure exists to assess consequences of use. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Inventory of Drug Use Consequences, a self-report measure assessing drinking and drug use consequences. Participants (N=252) were assessed at entry into outpatient substance abuse treatment. Items loaded strongly on 1 factor, and internal consistency of the total scale was high. Fifteen items with the highest correlations with the total scale were chosen to represent the construct. The shortened measure exhibited good internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity, and detected change over time and may be the measure of substance use consequences that is lacking in the field.

This study compared the concurrent and predictive validity of motivational subtypes versus a continuous measure of readiness for change as measured by the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale (URICA; E. A. McConnaughy, J. O. Prochaska, & W. F. Velicer, 1983) in 252 individuals participating in a substance abuse treatment study (38% female; mean age = 36). Hierachical cluster analysis identified a 2-cluster solution. Consistent with previous research, both the motivational subtypes and the continuous readiness measure exhibited good concurrent validity with both baseline characteristics and change process variables. Neither readiness-for-change measure predicted end treatment outcomes. Measures of readiness for change based on the URICA exhibit limited clinical utility, because they are not able to predict future behavior.

This study evaluated the short-term effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) for substance abuse delivered in a community setting. At entry into outpatient community substance abuse treatment, participants (N = 252) were randomly assigned to 3 conditions: high-standardization CBT, low-standardization CBT, and treatment as usual. Treatment consisted of 12 weekly individual therapy sessions. There was a significant decrease in substance use from baseline, with participants reporting being abstinent on 90% of within-treatment days and 85% of days during the 6 months posttreatment. However, there were no significant differences in outcomes across conditions. Findings do not support the hypothesis that disseminating CBT to community settings will improve outcomes and suggest that standard substance abuse counseling may be more effective than previously thought.

Interest exists in assessing health-related quality of life as one aspect of treatment effectiveness with substance abuse clients. The SF-36 Health Survey is a self-report measure assessing subjective health status along physical and mental health dimensions. Subjects were 252 adults in an outpatient, randomized clinical trial for substance abuse treatment. Subjects reported significantly more impairments in functioning when compared to U.S. population norms, but differences disappeared after three months of treatment. There was little support that quality of life functioning was significantly related to substance use during treatment. Results highlight the importance of using the SF-36 to facilitate treatment planning.

No abstract

ICM is a promising intervention for managing substance dependence among women receiving TANF and for improving employment rates among this vulnerable population.

No abstract