Jenny Chong, PhD and Darlene Lopez, MS. College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Rural Health Office, 2501 E. Elm Street, Tucson, AZ 85716, 520 626 7946 x 225, jchong@u.arizona.edu

Substance abuse in Native American populations is a significant public health problem. Social support has been reported to be one of the crucial ingredients for successful substance abuse treatment outcomes. Among Native American women who have had substance abuse treatment, major obstacles to recovery were unsupportive partners and returning to communities where substance abuse was widespread (Brindis et al., 1995). In this presentation, we describe the changes across time (intake, discharge, 6 month and 12 month follow-up) on psychological and behavioral variables among female Native American clients of a substance abuse treatment facility. In particular, differences in patterns will be assessed in terms of whether the client reported having social support, as well as whether she had other individuals (family member or otherwise) involved in her treatment while she was in the program.

Learning Objectives: Attendees will be able to

• Discuss the difference in impact between perceived and actual support on substance abuse treatment outcome.
• Describe the difference in outcome between those with alcohol problems with those with drug problems.
• Describe the mid term outcome (up to 12 months post discharge) among Native American women who had attended a 45 day substance abuse residential program

Keywords: Substance Abuse Treatment, Native Americans

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.