FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH HELP-SEEKING AND PERCEIVED DEPENDENCE AMONG COCAINE USERS

Motivational and decisional models suggest that those who seek help fo r substance use problems may differ from those who do not seek help in terms of their belief that substance use is creating social and perso nal negative consequences and their perceived dependence. In this stud y, help seeking for cocaine use was hypothesized to be a function of t he negative consequences from cocaine, perceiving oneself as dependent on cocaine, quantity and frequency of use, cost of use, and route of administration. A sample of 161 substance abusers in treatment who had used any cocaine in the last 6 months completed questionnaires regard ing the quantity, frequency, history, and perceptions of the consequen ces of their cocaine use. Of the 161 subjects, 113 (70.2%) had at some time sought help from someone for their cocaine use. After controllin g for marital and employment status, a logistic regression revealed th at the number of negative consequences experienced, feeling dependent on cocaine, and the amount of cocaine used were associated with seekin g help for cocaine use. Additionally, a logistic regression was perfor med to determine factors associated with cocaine users' reporting that they feel dependent on cocaine. Significant variables included number of negative consequences experienced and frequency of use. Consistent with motivational and decisional models, results suggest that clients ' motivation to seek help for cocaine use is related primarily to adve rse consequences of use. Theoretical and clinical implications of resu lts are discussed.