Outcomes of regular vs. extended alcohol/drug outpatient treatment: I. Relapse, aftercare, and treatment re-entry.

Alcohol and drug patients were randomized into two groups, one receiving three months and the other six months of outpatient treatment to determine differences in treatment outcomes. Most clients had received prior 30 days of inpatient treatment. Patients were contacted after the first 70 days of outpatient treatment and 12 refused participation. Consenters were randomized and assigned into control (n = 103) and experimental (n = 127) groups, and interviewed at discharge, and three and six months later. A gratuity of $10.00 was offered after a completed phone interview. Data were analyzed using chi-square, t-test, and multivariate logistic regression techniques. Controls had lower treatment drop-out and higher follow-up attrition rates than experimentals. There were no major differences in reported subsequent alcohol/drug use, or attendance to aftercare, Alcohol Anonymous (AA) and support groups during the 3 and 6 months follow-up surveys. More controls re-entered treatment than experimentals at 3 months post-treatment, but there was no such difference at 6 months post-treatment. In terms of ancillary effects, experimentals had slightly more desirable outcomes with respect to abstinence at time of discharge, and use of cocaine at 3 months follow-up. Controls were more likely to use cocaine and less likely to re-enter inpatient treatment or attend aftercare than experimentals. At six months the few who reported using painkillers were controls. Relapse was predictably influenced both at 3 and 6 months by pretreatment use of cocaine as primary drug, and by duration of abstinence from all chemicals. The predictive influence of cocaine was greater at 3 than at 6 months post-discharge.