MEASURING READINESS FOR CHANGE AMONG CRACK COCAINE USERS: A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS

• Published in: Substance use & misuse Vol. 36; no. 6-7; pp. 687 - 699
• Main Authors: Siegal, Harvey A., Li, Li, Rapp, Richard C., Saha, Pranjit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Informa UK Ltd 01.01.2001; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis of Variance; Cluster analysis; Cocaine; Cocaine-Related Disorders - psychology; Cocaine-Related Disorders - therapy; Crack; Crack Cocaine - adverse effects; Crack cocaine users; Drug Abuse; Drug abusers; Drug Addiction; Evaluation; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; Measures (Instruments); Patient Acceptance of Health Care - psychology; Patients; Readiness; Scales; Stage of change; Stages of change; Substance Abuse Treatment Centers; Surveys and Questionnaires; Treatment; Treatment Compliance; Treatment Outcomes
• ISSN: 1082-6084; 1532-2491
• DOI: 10.1081/JA-100104085

This study examines the utility of the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale (URICA) in assessing stages of change status with a group of 235 crack cocaine users who had received treatment for their drug use. Cluster analyses were performed and three subgroups representing differing levels of readiness to change were identified. The three clusters demonstrated no significant differences on most demographic characteristics and other areas of functioning assessed by the Addiction Severity Index (ASI).The three clusters also showed similar improvements between the intake and six-month follow-up in these ASI life domains. The implications of these findings are discussed. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts Section of this issue.]