Verbal ability predicts abstinence from drugs and alcohol in a residentialtreatment population

Measures of cognitive ability, depression, anxiety, antisocial personality, as well as length, type and severity of addiction were obtained from 122 s ubstance abusers enrolled in residential treatment programs. Over a subsequ ent 6-mo. monitoring period, relapse to substance use was detected in 46 su bjects. 17 subjects withdrew from treatment for other reasons and their rel apse status was unknown. The remaining 59 maintained abstinence from alcoho l or drug use throughout the monitoring period. The only variables to diffe rentiate the groups significantly on outcome mere IQ and the Verbal subtest from the Shipley Institute of Living Scale. Stepwise discriminant function analysis indicated that the Verbal component alone correctly identified 64 .4% of patients who would successfully remain abstinent.