Changes in locus-of-control attitudes about drug misuse in a self-help group in a methadone maintenance clinic

Clients of a methadone-maintenance clinic in Brooklyn, New York participating in a clinically-guided self-help (CGSH) program plus standard treatment (methadone maintenance plus individual counseling) demonstrated statistically significant changes in locus-of-control beliefs, from external to internal causation, about personal responsibility for drug misuse. Members of two control groups--one participating in a didactic lecture program plus standard treatment and the other receiving only standard treatment--failed to demonstrate similar changes. This increase in internal locus of control in the CGSH group suggests the potential efficacy of CGSH as a relapse-prevention therapeutic technique.