WILLINGNESS FOR TREATMENT AS A PREDICTOR OF RETENTION AND OUTCOMES

Retention in drug treatment is important to successful outcomes. The p urpose of this study was to test assumptions made in the development a nd implementation of the ASSET project. The three assumptions were tha t living conditions of the homeless adult drug user influence willingn ess for treatment; willingness relates to treatment tenure; and, condi tions, willingness and time in treatment influence treatment outcomes. Data on alcohol use, drug use, employment and housing as well as moti vation, readiness and suitability of treatment were collected from 494 homeless adults at baseline and at follow-up. Data were subjected to multivariate causal analysis using factor analytic structural equation s modeling, Practical fit indices were acceptable. The measurement mod el confirmed a higher order construct labelled willingness encompassin g motivation, readiness and suitability. The structural model demonstr ated that willingness positively related to treatment tenure; willingn ess positively influenced change in drug use and housing; and, tenure related positively to change in housing.