Predictors and Outcome of Aftercare Participation of Alcohol and Drug Users Completing Residential Treatment

Abstract

This study attempts to identify factors associated with greater aftercare participation for 367 adults who completed abstinence-based residential addiction treatment between and at Bellwood Health Services in Toronto, Canada. Pre-treatment substance use, number of days spent in residential treatment, motivation, treatment satisfaction, and demographics were used to determine which characteristics predicted greater aftercare participation. The duration of residential treatment and treatment satisfaction emerged as significant predictors of aftercare attendance. Regular aftercare attendance was associated with lower levels of substance use at 6-month follow-up. Results suggest that a longer duration of residential treatment can influence continuing care engagement and highlight the importance of initial treatment retention for long-term recovery.

Keywords :

• alcohol and drug use
• aftercare participation
• addiction treatment

THE AUTHORS

Simone Arbour, Ph.D., is the Research and Program Quality Coordinator at the Bellwood Health Services. Simone provides research consultation and oversees the organization's outcome study and other projects designed to examine the impact of Bellwood's various treatment programs on clients’ health and well-being. Research papers generated from this study have been presented at Addictions Ontario, the American Society for Addiction Medicine, the Canadian Society for Addiction Medicine, the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse, and have been published in the Journal of Substance Use and the Journal of Addictions Nursing. Simone is also a past research presenter at the American Psychological Association and the Canadian Psychological Association. Simone's applied research interests also involve the assessment of target population needs, development of assessment and measurement tools, and program evaluation.

Dr. Janice Hambley, Ph.D., received her doctorate degree from the University of Toronto and is a certified Psychologist in the Province of Ontario. From 1990 to 2009, Dr. Hambley worked full-time in the addiction field as the Vice President of Health and Clinical Services at the Bellwood Heath Services. In this role, she was responsible for all the clinical treatment programs at Bellwood as well as student internships, research activities, and quality assurance. She presently holds the position of Clinical Psychologist at Bellwood. As the Vice President of the Health and Clinical Services, Dr. Hambley played a key role in the development of Bellwood's treatment programs, including the specialized programs for eating disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, and problem gambling. Dr. Hambley has delivered professional papers nationally and internationally on a variety of research and addiction treatment topics. In addition to her work in the addiction field, Dr. Hambley has extensive experience working with children in school systems and children's aid societies, as well as children with physical and neurological disorders.

Victoria Ho, B.A., completed her undergraduate studies in Psychology at the York University and worked as a research assistant at the Bellwood Health Services from 2005 to 2010. Victoria is currently completing her M.A. in Educational Counselling at the University of Ottawa. Her research interests include substance abuse, eating disorder, and trauma in women, as well as self-care practices in addictions professionals.

Notes

3 Refer to Magura (2000) for an extensive analysis of treatment quality, which is rarely, if ever, noted in the substance user treatment literature. Editor's note.

4 Refer to Hills’ (1965) criteria for causation, which were developed in order to help assist researchers and clinicians determine if factors were causes of a particular disease or outcomes, or merely associated. Editor's note.