Research Consistently Demonstrates Benefits of Drug Abuse Treatment

In numerous large-scale studies examining the outcomes of drug abuse treatment provided in a variety of settings, researchers have concluded that treatment is beneficial. Major Studies Report Reductions in Drug Use and Crime Following Treatment

Comprehensive analyses of the effectiveness of drug abuse treatment have been conducted by several major, federally funded studies over a period of nearly 30 years: the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS), the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study (NTIES), the Treatment Outcome Prospective Study (TOPS), and the Drug Abuse Reporting Program (DARP). These studies are generally considered by the research community to be the major evaluations of drug abuse treatment effectiveness, and much of what is known about “typical” drug abuse treatment outcomes comes from these studies. Longer Treatment Episodes Have Better Outcomes, but Treatment Duration Is Limited by Client Drop-Out

Another finding across these studies is that clients who stay in treatment longer report better outcomes. However, researchers emphasize that client reporting on use of illicit drugs during the previous year (the outcome measure used in most effectiveness evaluations) has been shown to be more accurate than client reporting on current drug use (the measure used to assess the validity of self-reported data). Although strong evidence supports methadone maintenance as the most effective treatment for heroin addiction, less is known about the best ways to provide treatment services to cocaine users or adolescents. Methadone maintenance reduces heroin use and criminal activity and improves social functioning. Cognitive-Behavioral Treatments Show Promise for Cocaine Addiction

researchers have relied on cognitive-behavioral therapies to treat cocaine addiction.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its recent report on drug abuse treatment research findings, focusing on: (1) the overall effectiveness of drug abuse treatment; (2) the methodological issues affecting drug abuse treatment evaluations; and (3) what is known about the effectiveness of specific treatments for heroin, cocaine, and adolescent drug addiction.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) it found that large, multisite, longitudinal studies have produced considerable evidence that drug abuse treatment is beneficial to the individual undergoing treatment and to society; (2) the studies have consistently found that a substantial proportion of clients being studied report reductions in drug use and criminal activity following treatment; (3) the studies also show that clients who stay in treatment for longer periods report better outcomes; (4) however, drug abuse treatment research is complicated by a number of methodological challenges that make it difficult to accurately measure the extent to which treatment reduces drug use; (5) in particular, growing concerns about the validity of self-reported data, which are used routinely in the major evaluations of drug abuse treatment, suggest that the treatment benefit reported by these studies may be somewhat overstated; (6) in addition, the research evidence to support the relative effectiveness of specific treatment approaches or settings for particular groups of drug abusers is limited; and (7) while one specific treatment approach--methadone maintenance--has been shown to be the most effective treatment for heroin addiction, research on the best treatment approach or setting for cocaine addiction or adolescent drug users is less definitive.