Decisional balance regarding substance use among persons with schizophrenia

State-of-the-science treatment of substance abuse relies on decisional bala nce activities (weighing pros and cons of continued substance use) to enhan ce motivation for change. Few data are available regarding the feasibility of these activities among persons dually diagnosed with schizophrenia and s ubstance use disorder. To address this lacuna in the literature, we complet ed focus groups with 21 participants, all of whom had a schizophrenia-spect rum diagnosis and lifetime substance abuse or dependence. These key informa nts discussed the press and cons of substance use as well as the pros and c ons of quitting in response to a structured group interview. Our qualitativ e data indicate that persons living with schizophrenia can generate rich an d diverse decisional balance information. We describe salient themes, contr ast complementary perspectives (i.e., the pros of using and cans of quittin g), and suggest treatment implications based on these findings.