PERSONALITY-DISORDERS AND TREATMENT OUTCOME IN METHADONE-MAINTENANCE PATIENTS

This study examined the relationship between personality disorders (PD s) and 7-month treatment outcome in 197 men admitted to methadone main tenance. Subjects reported pervasive improvement, and the amount of im provement did not significantly differ for those subjects with and wit hout PDs. PD subjects entered treatment with more severe self-reported drug, alcohol, psychiatric, and legal problems, and despite progress, remained more problematic in those areas relative to subjects without PDs. Subjects with antisocial PD had admission and 7-month problem st atus similar to subjects with other PDs. The 7-month urinalysis result s for opiates and cocaine showed no significant differences between su bjects with and without PDs. Fewer PD subjects stayed in treatment con tinuously for the 7-month period. Several cluster B PDs--borderline, a ntisocial, and histrionic-predicted poorest overall outcomes. Methadon e-maintained patients with PDs may warrant additional treatment servic es if they are to approach the functional level of patients without PD s.