Use of legal drugs by psychiatric outpatients: Benefits, costs, and change

Caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol use by persons with a severe mental illness occurs frequently but is poorly understood. We used qualitative methods to elicit information regarding the functional relationships between legal su bstance use and its antecedents and consequences. This report summarizes re sponses provided bg 37 psychiatric outpatients who participated in focus gr oups and key informant interviews regarding the use and functions of alcoho l, caffeine, and nicotine. We describe major themes regarding positive and negative consequences, triggers for we, change efforts, and offer observati ons regarding substance use in this underserved population.