BEHAVIORAL COUPLES THERAPY FOR MALE SUBSTANCE-ABUSING PATIENTS - A COST OUTCOMES ANALYSIS

The cost outcomes for married or cohabiting substance-abusing male pat ients (N = 80) who were randomly assigned to receive either behavioral couples therapy (BCT) or individual-based treatment (LET) were compar ed. Social costs incurred by patients in several areas (e.g., cost of substance abuse treatment, support from public assistance) during the year before and the year after treatment were estimated. BCT was more cost-beneficial than IBT; although the monetary outlays for delivering LET and BCT were not different, the average reduction in aggregate so cial costs from baseline to follow-up was greater for patients who rec eived BCT (i.e., $6,628) than for patients who received IBT (i.e., $1, 904). BCT was also more cost-effective than IBT; for each $100 spent o n treatment, BCT produced greater improvements than IBT on several ind icators of treatment outcome (e.g., fewer days of substance use, fewer legal problems).