Community-Based Drug and Alcohol Counseling: Who Attends and Why?

• NCJ Number: 196913
• Journal: Drug and Alcohol Review Volume: 21 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2002 Pages: 153-162
• Author(s): Anthony P. Shakeshaft; Jenny A. Bowman; Rob W. Sanson-Fisher
• Date Published: June 2002
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This study describes the demographic and substance use characteristics of community-based drug and alcohol counseling clients in Australia.

Abstract

Clients attending a free, community-based drug and alcohol counseling service completed a computer survey at their initial consultation. The computerized questions covered four domains: demographic characteristics, alcohol use, tobacco use, and other drug use. Data collected in this study were compared with data collected in general practice settings from the same geographical area and a general community sample. Of all clients attending for counseling, 90 percent participated in the study. Findings showed that community-counseling clients appeared to be predominantly young, single males that were socio-economically disadvantaged. A comparable proportion of community counseling clients and the community sample were identified as being at-risk, while statistically fewer general practice patients reported at-risk consumption. Community counseling clients reported a low prevalence of at-risk weekly alcohol consumption (31 percent), relative to binge consumption (83 percent), and the experience of alcohol-related problems (94 percent). The prevalence of smoking in the community-counseling sample (74 percent) is statistically significantly higher than that reported among general practice patients from the same geographical area (19 percent) and that reported in a general community survey. For drugs other than alcohol and tobacco, findings showed that cannabis was the most widely used in the 3 months prior to attending community counseling (61 percent), followed by amphetamines (22 percent), benzodiazepines (20 percent), and opiates (15 percent). There appears to be a need for community-based drug and alcohol counseling services. Results suggest that brief intervention strategies for reducing drug-related harm may be appropriate for the types of clients that attend community-based counseling. These findings also provide some support for a harm-minimization approach, as opposed to focusing on abstinence alone. 4 tables, 64 references