Former Addicts as Members of Staff, and Type of Activity Offered to Drug Misusers. Do These Factors Influence Rate of Completion?

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Length of stay in treatment and rehabilitation facilities and former addicts as members of staff (FA-staff) have been advocated as predictors of success. Sixty clients (48.3% women) admitted to seven different facilities were interviewed as part of a study of matching clients to institutions. The presence of FA-staff and the level of 18 different therapeutic and leisure activities employed in the facilities, were compared to length of stay. Men left the facilities earlier than women. The incidence rate of non-completion was 2.1 and 1.4 per year in men and women respectively, with a non-significant rate ratio. The incidence of non-completion in men in facilities without FA-staff was 3.3, compared to 1.6 in facilities with FA-staff. The incidence rate ratio was 2.06 (95% confidence interval 1.08-3.95). In women, no such significant rate ratio was found. A set of 6 activities aimed at rehabilitation, family network, occupational information, vocational and pedagogical counselling, rehabilitative measures and sensation -seeking activity, was significantly correlated to length of stay of male clients, but not of female clients. The results suggest that male clients tend to stay longer in facilities providing activities which may directly enhance future functioning in a drug-free life, as opposed to the indirect effect of resolving intra-psychic or inter-personal problems. Presence of FA-staff as role models, may have encouraged completion of stay.