Ph.D. Candidate Orrin D. Ware and colleagues have a new paper published in Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Title: Barriers to retention in substance use treatment: Validation of a new, theory-based scale
The study administered surveys to 200 participants initiating SUD treatment at a public, outpatient program in Northern California; the analytic sample (N = 156) included only those not strongly coerced into treatment. A 19 Item and scale analyses identified three dimensions of attitudinal barriers (i.e., Low Perceived Treatment Need/Value, Social Concerns, and Concerns about Missing Substances) and two dimensions of perceived control barriers (i.e., Personal Limitations and Basic Logistic Barriers). Results suggest that interventions to improve retention should focus strongly on concerns about the negative impacts of abstaining from alcohol and drugs on craving and quality of life.