The characteristics and outcome results of 123 cocaine dependent patie
nts who dropped out following intake without returning for even one tr
eatment visit were compared with those of 324 who did return and recei
ved at least one treatment service and 118 who remained on the program
for two months or more, The pre-treatment dropouts were more often po
sitive for cocaine on admission drug screens and less often employed.
They reported fewer psychological symptoms on the scales of the SCL-90
and received lower scores on the medical problem severity scale of th
e ASI, At 9-month follow-up they were found to have less often attende
d self-help meetings or continued in outpatient treatment, more often
to have been admitted for inpatient treatment or been in jail, less of
ten returned to school and were more often using cocaine. Clearly, cli
nicians and researchers need a better understanding of these patients
who account for significant attrition, have distinguishing characteris
tics, and do much more poorly than those who remain in treatment.