From Heroin to Methadone—Social Role Changes and Reinforcement Differentials in Relation to Outcome on Methadone.: Part II. The Study of Social Role Changes

Abstract

The life-styles of addicts who are Successful, Marginally Successful, and Failures in a methadone maintenance program are examined by in-depth interviews in five time periods—early family life, the preheroin period, late heroin, premethadone, and methadone maintenance. The hypothesis is confirmed that the more the methadone patient has managed to develop a new and more conventional set of peer group, familial, and occupational roles, the greater the likelihood of his success on methadone maintenance. The in-depth view of the groups over time suggests that the pattern of alternation of positive reinforcements and punishing situations may be associated with outcome.