Mediators of telephone-based continuing care for alcohol and cocaine dependence.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2007 Oct Vol 75 (5) 775-784


A previous randomized trial with 224 alcohol and/or cocaine addicts who had completed an initial phase of treatment indicated that 12 weeks of telephone-based continuing care yielded higher abstinence rates over 24 months than did group counseling continuing care.

The current study examined mediators of this treatment effect.

Results suggested that self-help involvement during treatment and self-efficacy and commitment to abstinence 3 months after treatment mediated subsequent abstinence outcomes. These analyses controlled for substance use prior to the assessment of mediators.

Conversely, there was no evidence that self-help beliefs or social support mediated the treatment effect.

These results are consistent with a model in which treatment effects are first accounted for by changes in behavior, followed by changes in self-efficacy and in commitment to abstinence.

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