MOTIVATIONAL SUBTYPES AMONG VETERANS SEEKING SUBSTANCE-ABUSE TREATMENT - PROFILES BASED ON STAGES OF CHANGE

This study is a replication of C. C. DiClemente and S. O. Hughes (1990) that identifies motivational subtypes among applicants for drug and alcohol treatment at a Veterans Hospital (N = 486). Scores on the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale were subjected to a cluster analysis and resulted in 4 of the 5 profiles previously identified. The cluster membership was distributed as follows: Precontemplation, 30% (n = 120), Contemplation, 17% (n = 69), Ambivalent, 22% (n = 90), and Participation, 31% (n = 125). Members of the Precontemplation cluster scored significantly lower on three measures of alcohol and drug use severity and were less often referred to inpatient treatment. Results are discussed in terms of the continued need for external validation of the stages of change model and the potential to match treatments to motivational subtypes.