Improvements in outcomes in methadone patients on probation/parole regardless of counseling early in treatment.

OBJECTIVE

This secondary data analysis examined the association between criminal justice (CJ) status and outcomes over 12 months of methadone maintenance treatment.

METHODS

In the parent study, 230 newly admitted patients were randomly assigned to methadone either with or without counseling for 4 months followed by standard methadone with counseling. Participants completed the ASI and urine drug testing at baseline and 4- and 12-month follow-up and the Treatment Readiness (TR) scale at baseline. The relationship between baseline CJ status (whether participants were on probation or parole), CJ status by study counseling condition, and CJ status by TR with heroin and cocaine use, illegal activity, days in treatment and treatment retention, arrests, and the number of days incarcerated or hospitalized during follow-up was examined.

RESULTS

Compared with participants not on probation/parole, probationers/parolees showed significant reductions in cocaine-positive tests from baseline to 12 months (P < 0.001). Probationers/parolees additionally reported significantly fewer days of illegal activity than nonprobationers/parolees at 12 months (P = 0.02). There was no relationship between CJ status and counseling condition for any outcomes. The relationship between CJ status and TR was significant only for cocaine-positive tests assessed over time (P = 0.017).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that methadone participants on probation/parole showed improvements in outcomes in comparison with participants not on probation/parole, regardless of whether they received counseling during the first 4 months of treatment.