Relapse in involuntary substance treatment: a transversal study

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the associations between relapse and admissions (voluntary and involuntary) in a sample of patients with substance dependence.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study undertaken at a private medical therapeutic community specialised in treating addiction, located in a rural area of São Paulo, Brazil. Sociodemographic characteristics, the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale (URICA), Stages Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-SCID were used.

Results: Relapse was associated with low family income (P=.006) and contemplation motivational stage (P<0.05). Nevertheless, no significant differences between individuals who were admitted involuntarily (64%) and voluntarily (54%) were observed (P=0.683) in terms of relapses.

Conclusions: In this sample, the relapse outcome in involuntary admissions was no different from the voluntary ones.

Keywords: Cocaine; Cocaína; Commitment of the mentally ill; Compromiso del enfermo mental; Comunidad terapéutica; Crack; Recaída; Relapse; Substance-related disorders; Therapeutic community; Trastornos relacionados con sustancias.