Predicting Post-Discharge Opiate Abstinence From Admission Measures of Motivation and Confidence

Admission scores from a model comprising 3 motivation factors concerning the cessation of heroin use and a confidence scale concerning postdischarge abstinence were tested for their ability to predict postdischarge outcomes in patients beginning inpatient opiate detoxification. Statistically significant prediction of abstinence from heroin 30 days after discharge and the number of heroin-free days in the 3 months following admission was based on the confidence scale and a factor concerned with externally imposed constraints on continued heroin use. The single-scale confidence measure made the largest contribution to each prediction, indicating that such scales may be potentially useful outcome predictors for postdischarge abstinence. External constraints on heroin use may not provide a basis for success in this treatment modality.