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drawn from subsequent analysis of the data. Generally speaking the proportion of women increased in the follow-up samples, the mean age of those seen was higher, they had a longer duration of use and of problem use and slightly, though not significantly lower severity of problems of dependence, psychological health and social satisfaction. This profile may be characteristic of those who are more committed to engaging with a treatment agency and in the process of treatment compared to those who have considered treatment and then lost contact.
Scores on all measures were compared for those who were seen at three months and at twelve month follow-up and there appeared to be change, generally in the direction of improvement, between intake and both follow-up points. There were significant increases in the proportions of people reporting abstinence in the past seven days in both substance groups between intake and three months, significant reductions in the amount of the substance used for the heroin group and in the number of people using on a daily basis in both substance groups. There were significant reductions in dependence scores in both substance groups over this period and improvements in psychological health and social satisfaction. Dependence and use of the substance continued to show significant correlations throughout the course of these changes.
Similarly, significant changes were shown on all these measures between intake and twelve months including a significant reduction in the amount of alcohol used on the heaviest day. However, when changes were examined in the group that were followed up at both three months and twelve months, differences in the scores between three month and twelve month follow-up were not significant, with one exception. There appears to have been a significant difference between the number of days per week using heroin at three months and at twelve months as well as over the whole period and over the first three months. Thus there is a suggestion here that changes achieved in the first three months were sustained but not improved at twelve months with the exception of the use of heroin, which continued to be reduced and the use of alcohol where a significant reduction was shown for the twelve months follow-up period only. Whether the changes were sustained, or rather it was the case that different sorts of changes thereafter were masked by the simple presentation of the differences in mean scores and proportions is explored further in Chapter 9.
Measures of impaired control and coping behaviours, not reported in Chapter 8 because their inclusion was designed for the purpose of further investigating the nature of change in dependence, are described and investigated in Chapter 9, following the further investigation of those changes in dependence scores and other measures reported above.
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