SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AND ABSTINENCE FROM COCAINE IN AN AMERICAN TREATMENT SAMPLE

In an extension of earlier work relating social-relationship variables to post-treatment abstinence from abused drugs, 104 cocaine users wer e studied for 6 months after completing drug treatment Social-relation ship variables included social integration, perceived support and soci al-network cocaine use. The effects of social relationships on cocaine abstinence tended to be conditional on race. Greater social integrati on predicted abstinence for Caucasian Ss (n = 54), but not African-Ame ricans (n = 50). Similar results occurred for perceived support Social network drug-use data also showed race differences the absence of cur rent cocaine users and the presence of former users predicted abstinen ce only for Caucasians. Interpretation of these findings if complicate d by the relationship we observed between race and route of cocaine ad ministration, with African-American Ss far more likely than Caucasians to be crack smokers or injection users as compared to intranasal user s. The effects of race could not be disentangled from the effects of r oute. Future studies of social relationships and cocaine abstinence sh ould focus on identifying social factors that are protective for Afric an-Americans and for smokers/injectors. Such studies are critical prec ursors to designing successful social-support interventions.