A METAANALYSIS OF PREDICTORS OF CONTINUED DRUG-USE DURING AND AFTER TREATMENT FOR OPIATE ADDICTION

Aims. Many people treated for opiate addiction continue to use drugs d uring and after treatment. It may be possible to improve outcomes by a ddressing patient characteristics that predict continued drug use. Thi s review uses meta-analytic techniques to identify risk factors for co ntinued drug use in patients treated for opiate abuse. Design and Meas urements. A thorough search of the published literature yielded 69 stu dies that reported information on the bivariate association between on e or mor independent variables and continued use of illicit drugs duri ng and after treatment for opiate addiction. Findings. Most of the pat ient variables summarized have weak longitudinal relationships with co ntinued drug use, although several variables display moderate longitud inal associations. Ten variables show statistically significant and lo ngitudinally predictive relationships (average r > 0.1) with continued use, including: high level of pretreatment opiate/drug use, prior tre atment for opiate addiction, no prior abstinence from opiates, abstine nce from/light use of alcohol, depression, high stress, unemployment/e mployment problems, association with substance abusing peers, short le ngth of treatment, and leaving treatment prior to completion. Several other variables may be potentially longitudinally predictive. Conclusi ons. To prevent relapse, treatment interventions should address multip le variables because no single variable strongly predicts continued dr ug use.