Publication Title
Substance abuse : official publication of the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2018
Keywords
Adult; Alcohol Abstinence; Alcoholism; Behavior Therapy; Comorbidity; Female; Glucuronates; Homeless Persons; Humans; Male; Mental Disorders; Middle Aged; Outpatients; Patient Compliance; Washington
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Adults experiencing homelessness and serious mental illnesses (SMI) are at an increased risk of poor mental health and treatment outcomes compared with stably housed adults with SMI. The additional issue of alcohol misuse further complicates the difficulties of those living with homelessness and SMI. In this secondary data analysis, the authors investigated the impact of homelessness on attrition and alcohol use in a contingency management (CM) intervention that rewarded alcohol abstinence in outpatients with SMI.
METHODS: The associations between housing status and attrition and alcohol abstinence during treatment, as assessed by ethyl glucuronide (EtG) urine tests, were evaluated in 79 adults diagnosed with alcohol dependence and SMI.
RESULTS: Thirty-nine percent (n = 31) of participants reported being homeless at baseline. Individuals who were homeless were more likely to drop out of CM (n = 10, 62.5%) than those who were housed (n = 4, 16.7%), χ
CONCLUSIONS: Individuals experiencing homelessness and co-occurring alcohol dependence and SMI receiving CM had higher rates of attrition, relative to those who were housed. Homelessness was not associated with differences in biologically assessed alcohol abstinence.
Area of Special Interest
Mental Health
Specialty/Research Institute
Behavioral Health
