PREDICTING TREATMENT RETENTION AMONG COCAINE USERS

Few studies have addressed treatment retention among cocaine-using sam ples. The current study develops and tests a model of treatment retent ion at the individual level, employing data from 110 cocaine users who initiated outpatient treatment. The model includes measures of extent of drug involvement, social isolation and support, motivation, and de mographic characteristics. Logistic regression is used to fit a final model, which includes measures of the following: living alone, use of multiple substances prior to treatment, length of cocaine use, and ext ernal motivation. Treatment implications and directions for further re search are discussed.