The role of family history in addiction severity and treatment response

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between familial history of substance use and addiction severity and treatment outcomes of opiate-dependent patients. The sample was comprised of 281 methadone maintenance patients at a VA or community-based clinic. Using the family history section of the Renard Diagnostic Interview, three familial risk groups were identified based on patients' self-report of their relatives' substance use. The three groups considered both the number and type (e.g., first vs. second degree) of biological relatives with a substance use problem. These three risk groups included: (1) high risk (HR, n = 111), (2) medium risk (MR, n = 80), and (3) low risk (LR, n = 90). HR patients reported a history of more severe asocial behavior at baseline and they reported more medical problems and a greater degree of concurrent alcohol use both prior to and after 6 months of treatment compared to LR patients. In addition, the HR group reported more family/social problems at baseline compared to the MR and LR group and both HR and MR patients reported more psychological problems than LR patients after 6 months of treatment. However, when accounting for baseline differences, the regression analyses demonstrated that familial risk was not predictive of drug treatment outcomes after 6 months of methadone maintenance treatment.