Brief coping skills treatment for cocaine abuse: 12-month substance use outcomes

Patients (N = 108) in a study of cocaine-specific coping skills training (C ST), which was found to reduce cocaine use during a 3-month follow-up, were followed for an additional 9 months. CST involved coping skills training i n the context of high-risk situations. Control treatment used meditation-re laxation. Both were added to comprehensive private substance abuse treatmen t. Patients in CST who relapsed had significantly fewer cocaine use days th an did the control group during the first 6 months, then both conditions di d equally well. Patients in CST also drank alcohol more frequently in the l ast 6 months than did contrast patients bur did not differ in heavy drinkin g days. For cocaine use outcomes, no interaction of treatment was found wit h gender, education, route of administration, drug use severity, sociopathy , or depression. Implications include the need to investigate different len gths and combinations of treatment.