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ABSTRACT
Cusson and Pinsonneault's theory of desistance from criminal behavior and Trevor Bennet's analysis of drug-taking careers provide the theoretical underpinnings for this study of 180 young men with histories of substance abuse. All the participants were living in the community and had decided to quit at least once previously. One hundred were drug-free; eighty were active users. The hypothesis predicted that the decision to quit would have had the highest probability of success under two conditions: (a) the impetus for the decision was a traumatic event, and (b) an alternative lifestyle was available to the person when he quit using drugs, and its details and accessibility known in advance. The hypothesis was confirmed.