Two Therapeutic Communities for Substance-Abusing Women and Their Children (From Treatment for Drug-Exposed Women and Their Children: Advances in Research Methodology, P 32-51, 1996, Elizabeth R Rahdert, ed. -- See NCJ-163710)

• NCJ Number: 163713
• Author(s): P Glider; P Hughes; R Mullen; S Coletti; L Sechrest; R Neri; B Renner; D Sicilian
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 20 pages
• Grant Number(s): R18-DA-06918; R18-DA-06369
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Sale Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Program Description (Demonstrative)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: DCC. NIDA Research Monograph Series 165

Annotation

The shared hypothesis of these two studies was that admitting drug-abusing women into a therapeutic community (TC) with their children would increase the women's retention in treatment and improve long-term outcomes.

Abstract

Amity, Inc, in Tucson, Arizona, and Operation PAR in St. Petersburg, Florida, developed clinical laboratories for research demonstration programs in two TC's for drug abusers. Both programs proposed randomized clinical trials to determine the efficacy of permitting drug-abusing women to bring one or more of their children to live with them in a TC. Women were randomly assigned to the demonstration program with child care available or to the standard TC without child care. Eighteen months of residential care were projected for both treatment groups, and both Amity and Operation PAR had the staff depth needed to expand the TC program to meet the special needs of women. The two studies demonstrated the feasibility of clinical trials that randomly assigned participants to different treatment conditions within TC's, but not without complications. It was possible to develop clinical laboratories for research by establishing facilities and programs for mothers and their children within existing TC's. The overall experience suggests that the TC modality is likely to benefit from further use of the clinical trial methodology, especially to examine the efficacy of treatment innovations. Problems associated with the two studies are discussed that focus on randomization, service availability, and tensions between clinicians and researchers. 9 references