Biomedical subjects

J S Wertz

Publications and source records attributed to J S Wertz.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1995

Problems in the application of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) in rural substance abuse services.

The aim of this research was to test the utility of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) in a rural community substance abuse outpatient treatment center and to predict future alcohol and drug problems based on ASI information. Substance abuse counselors used the ASI to assess the problems of 89 adult clients at intake, and research staff assessed drug use outcomes 3 months later. There were significant improvements between intake and follow-up on the scores on the alcohol, drug, legal, and family sections of the ASI. Scores on the alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and medical sections of the ASI predicted some of the variance (16%) in drug and alcohol use outcomes, but psychiatric, medical, legal, and employment problems were not significant predictors. There was some difficulty in obtaining adequate reliability in counselors' severity ratings for alcohol problems. The relationship of counselors' severity ratings to the more objective composite scores varied substantially by subsection of the ASI. The improvements in alcohol and drug use indices appeared to be more related to subjective appraisals of problems related to use rather than due to changes in drug-using behavior. Implications of these findings and recommendations for further research using the ASI are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Self-efficacy and marijuana cessation: a construct validity analysis.

Hypotheses regarding the relationships between self-efficacy for avoiding marijuana use and theoretically related measures were examined in a sample of 161 men and 51 women who sought treatment aimed at marijuana cessation. Theoretically proposed sources of efficacy judgments showed stronger univariate and multivariate relationships with efficacy for avoiding marijuana use after treatment than before treatment. The cognitive-behavioral relapse prevention treatment resulted in marginally greater self-efficacy, compared with a nonbehavioral treatment, but the link between coping skill training and efficacy was ambiguous. Efficacy contributed incrementally to the prediction of posttreatment marijuana use beyond efficacy source variables, but it did not completely mediate the effects of those sources of efficacy judgments. Predictive validity was stronger for frequency of posttreatment marijuana use than for abstinence status. The need for better assessment of the efficacy construct and potential revisions in efficacy theory as applied to substance use are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Predictors of marijuana treatment outcomes: the role of self-efficacy.

This study tested the ability of sets of demographic, socioeconomic, marijuana use/abuse, psychological distress, and self-efficacy variables to predict posttreatment indices of marijuana intake and problems related to use. Subjects were 167 adults who participated in one of two outpatient treatments for marijuana dependence and completed the 3-, 6-, and 12-month posttreatment follow-ups. Only pretreatment marijuana quantity-frequency of intake and self-efficacy variables made significant and consistent contributions to the regression equations predicting posttreatment frequency of use. In contrast, socioeconomic and severity of abuse indicators predicted posttreatment marijuana-related problems. Contrary to social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986), there was no evidence that self-efficacy mediated the effects of other predictors. Results are discussed in terms of the specificity of predictor-outcome relationships and the need for improvements in self-efficacy measurement.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Predictors of attrition from an outpatient marijuana-dependence counseling program.

We sought to characterize attrition-related characteristics of three subgroups of adults (i.e. early dropouts, late dropouts, treatment completers) who had participated in a marijuana-dependence treatment outcome study involving two alternative forms of outpatient group counseling. Early dropouts were younger, earned less income, were more likely to rent rather than own their domiciles, were less able to pay bills, and had a higher level of psychological distress than was the case with treatment completers. Late dropouts and completers were quite similar on a number of measures (e.g., age, income, home ownership, ability to pay bills, psychological stress level, confidence in being abstinent in the future), yet the lower rates of abstinence in the late dropouts largely resembled the treatment outcomes of early dropouts. The findings suggest that attrition prevention in the early phase of counseling ought to focus on motivational ambivalence as well as assisting the client in dealing with schedule conflicts or financial impediments to continued involvement. In the later stage of counseling, attrition reduction is more likely to be accomplished through efforts to better understand and address the client's dissatisfaction with treatment components delivered at that stage.

Adolescent↗