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98spring.html
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This
Spring 1998 issue is also available in Adobe(R) PDF format.
(PDF; 116KB / 4 pages)
DATOS Web site goes online
After
a year of planning, a new Web site designed to provide greater access
to DATOS findings is online. IBR Director Dr.
Dwayne Simpson, who served as managing editor for the site, explains
"it is part of a commitment to make findings from this major study
more accessible to a broader audience, especially in view of the recent
attention given to drug abuse and treatment and the resulting implications
for national policy. "In addition, he says, "there is an international
interest in DATOS we need to address. The Internet is becoming the most
efficient tool for disseminating new scientific information."
The Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS) is a national, multi-site, longitudinal project designed to investigate the outcomes of drug abuse treatment as it is typically delivered in the United States. The home page (illustrated on front page) allows users to access descriptive and historical information about the project, as well as bibliographies, abstracts, data charts, and summaries of recent findings. In addition, links are available to the Collaborating Research Centers working on DATOS. As future DATOS studies are completed, findings will be posted and referenced. Highlights from conference presentations, posters, and symposia also will be made available at: www.datos.org. n
New Workplace training program builds on 8 years of research
A new grant from NIDA will allow IBR researchers to study the effectiveness of a specialized workplace training program designed to change attitudes and behaviors that contribute to alcohol and drug use on the job. This dynamic approach to preventing substance abuse-related problems in the workplace will be evaluated at two municipal workforces in the Southwest over the next three years.
The research design, under the direction of Principal Investigator Dr. Wayne Lehman, draws on the findings of several major studies undertaken by IBR’s Workplace Project over the last eight years. These studies have examined levels of employee drug and alcohol use, employee perceptions and attitudes about co-worker substance use, awareness and satisfaction regarding substance abuse policy, indicators of employee health and wellness, and the impacts of culture and organizational change in the workplace. (A bibliography of Workplace Project studies is available at the IBR Web site.)
The upcoming studies will investigate the role of team-oriented, workplace-based training programs in reducing employee substance abuse problems and increasing attitudes that support employee wellness, cohesiveness, and quality orientation. Work teams and supervisors in both large and mid-sized municipalities will be randomly assigned to "standard" or "enhanced" training programs (or to a "no-training" control group). Subjects assigned to the standard condition will receive a primarily didactic training package focusing on signs and symptoms of individual substance abuse, workplace policies, and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services and referral procedures. In the enhanced condition, workers will receive a specialized training package that combines general information about policy and EAP services with interactive approaches that address workplace culture, attitudes and behaviors, including the impact of co-worker use on work-team cohesion, performance, and quality (see Figure 1 below).
Figure 1. Enhanced and Standard Workplace Training
Pretest, posttest, and 6-month follow-up measures will be collected using a cohort design that allows for examination of changes over time. Data will include self-report attitudinal and behavioral measures and data from relevant organizational records such as absenteeism, accidents, disciplinary reports, EAP referrals, and worker’s compensation claims. Approximately 1,500 city workers and supervisors are scheduled to take part in these studies.
In the final stage of the project, employee training manuals and a trainer training module will be developed for wider dissemination. In discussing the potential importance of this research, Dr. Lehman notes that "workplace training on substance abuse prevention that focuses on the work group and is well integrated into existing organizational objectives, such as quality initiatives, is more likely to be effective in changing work group cultures that tolerate, enable, and condone substance use." n
DATAR focuses on cocaine and contingency management
The effectiveness of using contingency management (CM) strategies and a cocaine intervention module to increase early treatment participation and reduce cocaine use among clients in outpatient methadone treatment (OMT) is being investigated as part of the Drug Abuse Treatment Assessment Research (DATAR) project. In the study, new clients are randomly assigned to one of several treatment conditions based on their cocaine-use status at admission. Clients who are positive for cocaine on the admission drug screen, report weekly or more cocaine use, or meet DSM-IV criteria for cocaine dependence are randomly assigned to receive either a cocaine intervention module or standard treatment. Incoming clients with no indicators of cocaine abuse also receive standard treatment. Across these three treatment conditions, clients are further assigned to either participate or not participate in contingency management (see Figure 2 below).
Figure 2. 8-Week Cocaine Intervention Design
After a brief stabilization period following intake, clients take part in their assigned interventions for 8 weeks and their progress is followed for another 8 weeks postinter-vention. In the CM component, clients earn "stars" for cocaine-free urine screens, for attending group or individual counseling sessions, and for working on treatment-related goals. The stars earned by clients can be redeemed for small prizes (e.g., gas coupons or movie passes) or saved for larger prizes valued at up to $25. Clients assigned to the cocaine intervention module receive specialized counseling designed to increase motivation, enhance coping skills, and reduce relapse. In addition to investigating the utility of targeted cocaine interventions for OMT clients, the study is expected to replicate previous IBR findings that support the use of CM strategies for encouraging treatment compliance among clients (visit IBR Web site for references). The study is being conducted at the DATAR clinical research site (Drug Dependence Associates of San Antonio) as part of the project’s overall investigation of the effectiveness of select treatment enhancements. n
Male-targeted intervention shows promise
A psychoeducational group intervention designed to help men in substance abuse treatment programs address relationship issues has been found to be associated with significant improvements in knowledge and attitudes that support healthier relationships. The Time Out! For Men (TOMEN) module, which addresses communication skills, self-esteem, sexuality, and conflict resolution, was developed at IBR following the success of a similar module for women.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the TOMEN materials, 122 male residents in a criminal justice-based residential treatment program were divided into experimental and con-trol groups. The experimental group (N=64) attended the 8-session group intervention as part of their primary treatment. The control group (N=58) attended regular treatment activities, but clients were offered the opportunity to participate in TOMEN groups several months later as part of the aftercare phase of treatment. Pre-and posttest instruments consisting of module-specific knowledge items, psychological and social functioning measures, and attitudinal measures related to egalitarianism, gender roles, sexuality, and communication were administered to both groups.
Overall, the TOMEN group showed greater improvements in social conformity, healthier attitudes about sexuality and gender roles, and increased knowledge about sexual health and effective communication skills. The results support the utility of specialized groups for helping men in substance abuse treatment address relationship, communication, and sexual health issues as an adjunct to primary treatment. More information about the TOMEN manual (along with the women’s version, Time Out! For Me) is available at the TCU/DATAR manuals page in the IBR Web site. n
Research Highlights
Dr. Wayne Lehman will chair a symposium entitled "Recent Trends in the Study of Transfer Climate: Research, Theory, and Consultation" at the annual meeting of the Society of Industrial/Organizational Psychology in April in Dallas, TX. Dr. Lehman and Drs. Joel Bennett and Jamie Forst will discuss a paper on "Exposure to Problem Co-workers and Total Quality Practices: Transfer Climate as a Multi-level Mediator."
Dr. Bennett also will present at the International Conference and Expo-sition of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) in June in San Francisco, CA. He will lead a trainer peer exchange on "Dealing with Substance Abuse in a Team Environment."
Dr. Dwayne Simpson recently delivered a presentation on the outcomes of court-mandated treatment at the Office of National Drug Control Policy Consensus Meeting on Drug Treatment in the Criminal Justice System in Washington, DC in March. He will present overviews from DATOS and DATAR treatment process studies at the annual meeting of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Directors (NASADAD) in Salt Lake City, UT in June.
IBR scientists will present findings at the upcoming College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) 60th Annual Scientific Meeting in Scottsdale, AZ in June. Dr. Grace Rowan-Szal, recently elected to membership in CPDD, will present "Assessment of Cocaine and Alcohol Dependent Methadone Patients" and Dr. Kirk Broome will discuss "Client and Community Differences in HIV Risk Reduction in a National Treatment Sample (DATOS)." Dr. George Joe will facilitate a poster on "Effects of Readiness for Drug Abuse Treatment on Client Retention and Assessment of Process," and a poster entitled "Meta-Analysis of Contingency Management in Drug Abuse Treatment Settings" (authored by James Griffith) also will be featured. n
IBR Newsletters
Research
Summaries on
Special Topics
Treatment
Process
and Outcomes
(September 2002)
(PDF;
240K/4 pgs)
Organizational
Change
(September 2002)
(PDF; 251K/4 pgs)
Treatment
Assessment
(September 2002)
(PDF; 270K/4 pgs)
Counseling
Manuals for
Special Interventions
(September 2002)
(PDF; 99K/4 pgs)
Treatment
Mapping
(September 2002)
(PDF; 411K/4 pgs)
Treatment
Readiness
and Induction
Strategies
(September 2002)
(PDF; 99K/4 pgs)
Correctional
Treatment
(December 2002)
(PDF; 664K/4 pgs)
Using the
TCU Drug Screen (TCUDS)
(December 2002)
(PDF; 451K/4 pgs)
Contingency
Management
(June 2000)
(PDF; 113K/4 pgs)
Research Reports from IBR
(updated newsletter)
Summer 2008
(PDF; 422K/4 pgs)
Spring 2008
(PDF; 181K/4 pgs)
Winter 2006-07
(PDF; 154K/4 pgs)
Fall 2006
(PDF; 290K/4 pgs)
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Research Roundup (back issues and archives)
Winter 2005-06
HTML (PDF; 518K/6 pgs)
Fall 2005
HTML (PDF; 131K/6 pgs)
Spring-Summer 2005
HTML (PDF; 301K/6 pgs)
Fall-Winter 2004-05
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HTML (PDF; 121K/4 pgs)
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