This study explores trajectories of substance use days over the eight months prior to residential treatment among at-risk, diverse women with SUD and assesses whether trajectories are linked to psychological functioning at baseline and subsequent drug/alcohol relapse. Data are from n=245 mostly Hispanic/Latina women undergoing residential SUD treatment. Group-Based Trajectory Modeling identified trajectories of substance use days, measured with the Timeline Followback (TLFB) over the eight months preceding treatment. psychological functioning (measured with the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire-Short Form, FFMQ-SF; Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, DERS; and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, DASS) and relapse by trajectory. We identified five groups: Low Days, Start High/Early Decrease, Start High/Middle Decrease, High Days/Late Decrease, and Recent Increase/Late Decrease. The High Days/Late Decrease group had higher DERS scores compared with the Low Days and Start High/Middle Decrease groups (p<.001 for both comparisons), and higher DASS scores compared with the Low Days, Start High/Early Decrease, and Start High/Middle Decrease groups (p<.0125 for all comparisons). Substance use trajectories representing a high proportion of using days proximal to treatment predicted worse psychological functioning. It may be worthwhile to develop lower-burden measures that capture substance use trajectories.
Prior 8-month substance use trajectories predict psychological functioning at start of residential treatment
Journal of Psychology and Clinical Psychiatry, 15 (6), 325-328. doi: 10.15406/jpcpy.2024.15.00799.