Drug network characteristics as a predictor of cessation of drug use amongadult injection drug users: A prospective study

Few studies have examined recovery from opiate and cocaine dependence witho ut treatment, referred to as "natural recovery,' "spontaneous recovery," an d "spontaneous remission." The present study examined the relationship betw een network characteristics and cessation of heroin, cocaine, and crack use in a sample of underclass inner-city injection drug users in Baltimore, Ma ryland. Participants were enrolled in an experimental human immunodeficienc y virus (HN) preventive intervention. Between the baseline and follow-up in terviews, which averaged 5.2 months, 24 (7%) of 335 participants reported c easing to use heroin, cocaine, and crack. Individuals who had reported cess ation of drug use at follow-up had reported at baseline a smaller proportio n of their network members with whom they used drugs (p <.02). Using multip le logistic regression analyses and adjusting for baseline drug use, enroll ment in drug treatment, and demographic and background variables, cessation of drug use was associated with a lower proportion of personal network mem bers in one's drug network (odds ratio [OR] = 25.4, p <.05). The data from this study suggest that network members have potential for social influence on the cessation of drug use.