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A Randomized Trial Of Employment-Based Reinforcement Of Cocaine Abstinence In Injection Drug Users
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (2007)
  • Kenneth Silverman, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  • Conrad J. Wong, University of Kentucky
  • Mick Needham, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  • Karly N. Diemer, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  • Todd Knealing, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  • Darlene Crone-Todd, Salem State University
  • Michael Fingerhood, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  • Paul Nuzzo, University of Kentucky
  • Kenneth Kolodner, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Abstract
High-magnitude and long-duration abstinence reinforcement can promote drug abstinence but can be difficult to finance. Employment may be a vehicle for arranging high-magnitude and long-duration abstinence reinforcement. This study determined if employment-based abstinence reinforcement could increase cocaine abstinence in adults who inject drugs and use cocaine during methadone treatment. Participants could work 4 hr every weekday in a workplace where they could earn about $10.00 per hour in vouchers; they were required to provide routine urine samples. Participants who attended the workplace and provided cocaine-positive urine samples during the initial 4 weeks were invited to work 26 weeks and were randomly assigned to an abstinence-and-work (n = 28) or work-only (n = 28) group. Abstinence-and-work participants had to provide urine samples showing cocaine abstinence to work and maintain maximum pay. Work-only participants could work independent of their urinalysis results. Abstinence-and-work participants provided more (p = .004; OR = 5.80, 95% CI = 2.03-16.56) cocaine-negative urine samples (29%) than did work-only participants (10%). Employment-based abstinence reinforcement can increase cocaine abstinence.
Publication Date
Fall 2007
DOI
10.1901/jaba.2007.40-387
Citation Information
Kenneth Silverman, Conrad J. Wong, Mick Needham, Karly N. Diemer, et al.. "A Randomized Trial Of Employment-Based Reinforcement Of Cocaine Abstinence In Injection Drug Users" Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis Vol. 40 Iss. 3 (2007) p. 387 - 410
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/darlene-cronetodd/7/