Within treatment drinking and surreptitious drinking during brief substance abuse treatment.

This project examined the frequency of within treatment drinking and surreptitious drinking among patients who attended a brief substance abuse treatment program that mandated within treatment abstinence. We defined surreptitious drinking as within treatment drinking that is kept hidden from treatment staff. Data for this project came from the anonymous exit surveys of 275 patients. Forty-eight patients (17.45%) indicated that they engaged in within treatment drinking at least once. Forty-one of those patients (87%) kept the drinking hidden from treatment staff. The most common reason for patients keeping their drinking hidden was a fear of discharge from treatment. Within treatment drinkers were compared to within treatment abstainers in the extent to which their treatment was coerced, the extent to which treatment was perceived as helpful, and their posttreatment intentions for substance use and follow-up care. Differences between these two groups, and their implications, are discussed.