Methodological Overview and Research Design for the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS)

• NCJ Number: 172393
• Journal: Psychology of Addictive Behaviors Volume: 11 Issue: 4 Dated: special issue (December 1997) Pages: 230-243
• Author(s): P M Flynn; S G Craddock; R L Hubbard; J Anderson; R M Etheridge
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 14 pages
• Grant Number(s): U01-DA10377-3
• Contract Number(s): 271-89-8233
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: DCC.

Annotation

This article describes the methodological aspects of the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS) and provides an overview of program and client samples.

Abstract

The DATOS study of adults is a comprehensive, longitudinal, nationwide, multisite study of drug abuse treatment designed to determine treatment outcomes, differential treatment effects by client and types of therapies-services, and the cost- effectiveness and cost-benefits of treatment. The adolescent project is a multisite, prospective, longitudinal study of adolescent drug abuse treatment that focuses on treatment effectiveness for youth with varying levels of impairment across multiple domains. The prospective cohort design used in DATOS was deemed the most appropriate strategy for studying the complex interactions of client characteristics and treatment elements as they occur in typical community-based programs. Programs that provided treatment in typical and stable community-based organizations between 1991 and 1993 were selected to develop diverse samples of clients and treatment approaches so that the factors that contribute to positive outcomes could be examined. Eleven cities were selected as sites for the study. The intake cohort consisted of 10,010 clients interviewed at admission to treatment. The sampling plan was designed to include clients who were exposed to treatment for more than a few days after admission. Other important considerations included program-level variation and the availability of comprehensive and complete data for outcome analyses. Interviews were conducted at admission and during treatment, and 2,966 selected participants completed a 12- month follow-up interview. Data-collection procedures and instrumentation are described, and the analytical approach used to attain the research objectives is presented. Future plans for a longer term follow-up are also described, along with the potential contributions of DATOS findings to treatment policy. 4 tables and 30 references