The long term objective of this research demonstration project, COUPLE- FOCUSED THERAPY FOR DRUG ABUSING WOMEN, is to evaluate the additive effectiveness of two new enrichment modalities using couples' therapy for further reducing or eliminating the drug abuse of young women in their childbearing years. This central goal of the 5-year research demonstration project will be accomplished by comparing 252 drug-abusing women randomly assigned to one of three out-patient treatment groups. All of the women will have a spouse or other identified sexual partner and will live in a wide area serviced by Terros, Inc., a large multi-ethnic, multi-service drug agency in Phoenix, Arizona. All of the women will be getting the same basic program in that agency's PASA Program, an ongoing, traditional, 12-step influenced recovery program. However, one-third of the women will be additionally assigned to a couples' therapy program known as Couples Therapy (Two-Person); another third, to a Couples' Therapy (One-Person) program. The final third will receive only the basic PASA Program. Oversampling for Latina/Hispanic, Black, and Native American women will make ethnic comparisons feasible. The methodology features: a group comparison research design with random assignment; frequent, standardized assessments of the women, utilizing tested instruments; multi-methods and multiple units of analysis and inference. Questionnaire and observational-behavioral measurements will be made at both the individual and couple levels of assessment at pretest, post, three, six and twelve months following treatment. This demonstration project will describe the modalities within treatment manuals and training videotapes for replication elsewhere. Finally, the project will increase patient slots at Terros, Inc. for 252 women who otherwise may not have received drug treatment.
