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. 2013 May-Jun;22(3):206-11.
doi: 10.1111/j.1521-0391.2012.00328.x.

An analysis of relapse prevention factors and their ability to predict sustained abstinence following treatment completion

David Farabee  1 , Michael McCann, Mary-Lynn Brecht, Sarah J Cousins, Valerie P Antonini, Anne B Lee, Jordana Hemberg, Mitch Karno, Richard A Rawson
Affiliations

An analysis of relapse prevention factors and their ability to predict sustained abstinence following treatment completion

David Farabee et al. Am J Addict. 2013 May-Jun.

Abstract

Background & objectives: This study assessed the role of 14 specific relapse-prevention activities and their underlying factors in maintaining abstinence among subjects (N = 302) completing outpatient treatment for stimulant dependence.

Methods: We examined what broader dimensions might subsume the 14 items constituting the Drug Avoidance Activities checklist (Farabee et al. J Subst Abuse Treat 2002;23:343-350), and how well these derived factors predicted concurrent drug use at baseline and again 3 and 12 months later.

Results: Although four factors were identified consistently for the three time points, only avoidance strategies had sufficient internal consistency to be retained for further analysis. Controlling for age, gender, and ethnicity, the avoidance subscale was a significant predictor of UA results at all time periods: a one-point increase in the avoidance strategies scale was associated with an 86% increase in odds of a negative UA at baseline (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.37-2.53, p < .001), a 77% increase at 3-month follow-up (OR = 1.77, CI = 1.37-2.29, p < .001), and a 37% increase at 12-month follow-up (OR = 1.37, CI = 1.04-1.81, p = .026).

Conclusions: Although correlations of individual items with UA results showed statistically significant (p < .05) results for 8 of 14 items at one or more observation points, avoidance-related behaviors showed the strongest associations with sustained abstinence.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this paper.

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