Ethnic differences in substance abuse treatment retention, compliance, and outcome from two clinical trials

This study examined the results of two previous studies that evaluated African Americans and whites who were undergoing treatment for cocaine dependence to determine whether the groups differed in pretreatment characteristics, treatment retention, compliance, and cocaine use outcome.

Data were taken from two trials (N=111 in each), in which patients were randomly assigned to groups that used different behavioral treatments (cognitive-behavioral treatment and 12-step facilitation) and pharmacotherapies (desipramine and disulfiram).

Few differences between African Americans and whites were found in terms of demographic characteristics, reasons for seeking treatment, or expectations of treatment. In both studies African Americans and whites did not differ significantly with respect to cocaine use outcomes, but African-American participants completed significantly fewer days of treatment than white participants. In study 2, which was not placebo controlled, African Americans who received disulfiram remained in treatment significantly longer than African Americans who did not receive disulfiram. However, in study 1, in which patients took either desipramine or a placebo, no interactions of ethnicity by medication were found. Among patients who expected improvement to take a month or longer in study 1, African Americans remained in treatment for fewer days than whites.

The behavioral therapies evaluated did not significantly differ in effectiveness for African Americans and whites, suggesting that they are broadly applicable across these ethnic groups. Findings also suggest possible strategies for improving retention of African Americans in treatment. Such strategies might include offering treatment with a medication component and better addressing participants' treatment expectations.