Predictors of retention in the 'voluntary' and 'quasi-compulsory' treatment of substance dependence in europe.

Background: Policies and practices related to the quasi-compulsory treatment (QCT) of substance-dependent offenders are currently implemented in many countries, despite the absence of reliable knowledge about significant predictors of treatment retention. This study aimed to identify such predictors in QCT and voluntary treatment.

Methods: Participants were treated in one of 65 institutions in 5 European countries.

Comparing outcomes of 'voluntary' and 'quasi-compulsory' treatment of substance dependence in Europe.

Aim: This study evaluates quasi-compulsory drug treatment (QCT) arrangements for substance-dependent offenders receiving treatment instead of imprisonment in comparison to voluntary treatment within five European countries.

Methods: Participants were interviewed with the European Addiction Severity Index, the ASI-crime module, questions on perception of pressure and self-efficacy, and the Readiness-to-Change Questionnaire at treatment entry and after 6, 12, and 18 months.

Results: Reductions in substance use and crime as well as improvements in health and social integration were observed in QCT and voluntary treatment groups.

The relationship between legal status, perceived pressure and motivation in treatment for drug dependence: results from a European study of Quasi-Compulsory Treatment.

This paper reports on intake data from Quasi-Compulsory Treatment in Europe, a study of quasi-compulsory treatment (QCT) for drug dependent offenders. It explores the link between formal legal coercion, perceived pressure to be in treatment and motivation amongst a sample of 845 people who entered treatment for drug dependence in five European countries, half of them in quasi-compulsory treatment and half 'voluntarily'. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, it suggests that those who enter treatment under QCT do perceive greater pressure to be in treatment, but that this does not necessarily lead to higher or lower motivation than 'volunteers'.

[HTLV-III serology, epidemiology and clinical aspects of imprisoned i.v. drug-dependent males in Austria].

Sera of 71 intravenous drug abusers imprisoned in Austria were tested for HTLV-III antibodies and the results correlated with the case histories and available clinical data. 12 sera, i.e.