Program variation in treatment outcomes among women in residential drug treatment

Multilevel modeling was used to assess the program characteristics associat ed with treatment retention among 637 women in 16 residential drug treatmen t programs in the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study. Women who were pregna nt or had dependent children had higher rates of retention in programs in w hich there were higher percentages of other such women. Longer retention wa s associated,vith higher rates of postreatment abstinence Bivariate analyse s showed that programs with higher proportions of pregnant and parenting wo men provided more sen ices related to women's needs. The findings support t he provision of specialized services and programs for women in order to imp rove outcomes of drug abuse treatment.