Initial Abstinence Status and Contingency Management Treatment Outcomes: Does Race Matter?

Objective: Limited research has evaluated African American substance users' response to evidence-based treatments. This study examined the efficacy of contingency management (CM) in African American and White cocaine users. Method: A secondary analysis evaluated effects of race, treatment condition, and baseline cocaine urine sample results on treatment outcomes of African American (n = 444) and White (n = 403) cocaine abusers participating in one of six randomized clinical trials comparing CM to standard care. Results: African American and White patients who initiated treatment with a cocaine-negative urine sample remained in treatment for similar durations and submitted a comparable proportion of negative samples during treatment regardless of treatment type; CM was efficacious in both races in terms of engendering longer durations of abstinence in patients who began treatment abstinent. Whites who began treatment with a cocaine positive sample remained in treatment longer and submitted a higher proportion of negative samples when assigned to CM than standard care. African Americans who initiated treatment with a cocaine positive sample, however, did not remain in treatment longer with CM compared with standard care, and gains in terms of drug use outcomes were muted in nature relative to Whites. This interaction effect persisted through the 9-month follow-up period. Conclusions: CM is not equally effective in reducing drug use among all subgroups, specifically African American patients who are using cocaine upon treatment entry. Future research on improving treatment outcomes in this population is needed.