Measuring psychosocial aspects of treatment outcome among compulsive drug users

Addressed three questions in a study designed to identify problems in adapting psychosocial measures for outcome evaluation of drug abuse treatment. Answers were sought by comparing samples of consecutive admissions to a drug dependence treatment center (N = 201) and to an inpatient psychiatric unit (N = 159) on home and community adjustment ratings (Personal Adjustment and Role Skills scales, Ellsworth, 1975) by self and significant others. For question one (Are there unique problems in gathering outcome data?), drug users' informants returned significantly fewer ratings: return rates were higher for drug users more seriously disturbed. For question two (Are data "reliable?"), comparable agreement was observed between self and other ratings for both drug users and psychiatric Ss; drug users' outcome data are as "reliable," but not as retrievable, as psychiatric outcome data. For question three (Is outcome change unique?), drug users rated as improving significantly more than psychiatric Ss in employment and in drug abuse. Several methodological issues must be resolved, however, before psychosocial outcome data may be used in comparative studies of drug abuse treatment effectiveness.