Study title

Substance Abuse Treatment in Outpatient Clinics: Pre- and Post-treatment Surveys 2007-2010

Dataset ID Number

FSD3367

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3367

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Rakkolainen, Maria (Tampere University)
• Koski-Jännes, Anja (Tampere University)
• Ehrling, Leena (Tampere University)
• Tolonen, Kari (Tampere University)

Abstract

This study charted Finnish substance users' situation in life and alcohol and drug use. Main themes included the problems that arose from the respondents' substance use, their motivation to stop using substances, and their use of social services. Additionally, the data include evaluations of client meeting discussions between social counsellors and clients at A-clinics, which offer substance abuse and mental health services. The data were collected as part of a research project on the adherence of motivational interviewing in the initial substance abuse setting and its effect on clients' substance abuse harm reduction (the MISA project), funded by the Academy of Finland.

The data consist of a pre-treatment survey, evaluations of counselling session discussions by both the counsellor and the client, and post-treatment surveys. The pre-treatment survey and the evaluations were completed during the counselling sessions, and the post-treatment surveys were completed as phone interviews six and twelve months after treatment. This dataset can be connected to the qualitative dataset FSD3368 Substance Abuse Treatment in Outpatient Clinics: Client Meetings 2008-2009, which consists of transcriptions of the counselling session discussions. The respondents in the two datasets can be connected with a unique client number. The qualitative dataset is only available in Finnish.

The pre- and post-treatment surveys were nearly identical. First, the clients' situation in life and use of alcohol in the past six months were surveyed with questions from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). The questions focused on, for example, how often the respondents consumed alcohol, how often they had not been able to stop drinking once they had started, how often they had felt guilt or remorse after drinking, and whether they had felt that their drinking had effected their social relationships negatively. The respondents' substance use was examined with questions regarding which substances they used and which substance was their principal opiate, i.e. for which opiate they were currently receiving treatment. Further questions on substance use were included from the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS), for example, whether the respondents thought the use of their principal opiate was out of control and whether they wished they could stop using the opiate.

Next, the pre-treatment survey charted the respondents' personal objectives regarding their substance use. The respondents were asked, for example, whether their objective was to achieve total abstinence or reduce their use of substances, or whether they though there was no need to change their substance use. Additionally, they were asked how sure they were that they would succeed in achieving their objective. Both the pre- and post-treatment surveys charted whether the respondents had any other addictions in addition to substances (e.g. a gambling, sex, or internet addiction). Finally, the treatment the respondents had received was examined in both surveys with questions on, for example, how many treatment periods they had received for substance use, whether they had received treatment for their substance use in the past six months, and whether they been on any medication to control their substance use in the past three months.

For the evaluations of the counselling session discussions, the counsellors and clients were asked to evaluate different aspects of the discussion on a scale from 1 to 5. Both the clients and counsellors were asked, for example, whether they though the discussion had been good or bad, difficult or easy, useful or useless, or significant or insignificant. The client's perception of the attitude of the counsellor was charted with questions on, for example, whether the client thought the counsellor was judgemental or accepting, or unkind or kind. The counsellor's perception of the client's attitude was examined with questions regarding, for example, how much emotion the counsellor thought the client expressed and whether the client was willing or unwilling to work together with the counsellor during the discussion. Finally, the clients were asked to evaluate their own preparedness to stop or reduce substance use, and the counsellors were asked to evaluate whether the client had a strong will to change their behaviour and whether they were likely to continue treatment and reduce or stop substance use.

Background variables included the client's age, gender, type of dwelling, marital status, level of education, employment status, and whether they had children.

Keywords

alcohol use; drinking behaviour; drug abuse; drug addiction; drug education; drug use; social problems; social services; substance use

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Medical and health sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Drug abuse, alcohol and smoking (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• General health and well-being (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (C) available only for research including master's theses.

Data Collector

• Rakkolainen, Maria (Tampere University)
• A-Clinic Foundation

Time Period Covered

2007 – 2010

Collection Dates

2007 – 2010

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

A-clinic clients aged 18 and over who had problems with alcohol or drug use and who were new clients, or who had not received treatment for substance use in the past six months

Time Method

Longitudinal: Cohort/Event-based

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Purposive

The researchers promoted the study to A-clinic employees, and the employees who decided to take part in the research presented the opportunity to participate to their clients. 16 counsellors and 38 clients participated in the study.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Telephone interview

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

1.0

Related Datasets

FSD3368 Substance Abuse Treatment in Outpatient Clinics: Client Meetings 2008-2009

FSD3369 Substance Abuse Treatment in Community Sanctions Offices: Pre- and Post-treatment Surveys 2007-2010

FSD3370 Substance Abuse Treatment in Community Sanctions Offices: Client Meetings 2007-2009

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The value labels of variables B16 and D16, denoting the client's preparedness to stop or reduce their use of substances, were ambiguous and as such are slightly different from the questionnaire. The value labels were included in the data as defined by the researcher.

The variable names correspond to the surveys as follows: A = pre-treatment questionnaire, B = the first evaluation of the discussion by the client, C = the first evaluation of the discussion by the counsellor, D = the second evaluation of the discussion by the client, E = the second evaluation of the discussion by the counsellor, F = post-treatment questionnaire after six months, G = post-treatment questionnaire after 12 months.

This dataset can be connected to the qualitative dataset FSD3368 Substance Abuse Treatment in Outpatient Clinics: Client Meetings 2008-2009, which consists of transcriptions of the counselling session discussions. The respondents in the two datasets can be connected with a unique client number. The evaluations of discussions included in this dataset were completed during the client meetings. The qualitative dataset is only available in Finnish.

To prevent identification of participants, variable A_1 denoting the client's year of birth was removed from the archived data. The following open-ended variables were also removed: A10 denoting the client's occupation, A50_2, F34_2 and G34_2 denoting where the client had received treatment for substance use, and F35_2 and G35_2 denoting which peer support groups the client had attended in the past three months outside AA/NA. Additionally, information on the A-clinic unit where the client received treatment, reasons for the client discontinuing the treatment, and any exceptional circumstances regarding the treatment were not included in the data. Variable A1_2 denoting the age group of the client was categorised into five-year groups. The open-ended responses left in the data were reviewed and the changes made at FSD were marked with [square brackets].

The data delivered to FSD for archiving did not include the years of birth of the client's children, included as part of variable A5 in the questionnaire. The data contain response options added by the researcher that were not included in the questionnaire. Some open-ended responses are not included in full in the data.

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Rakkolainen, Maria (Tampere University) & Koski-Jännes, Anja (Tampere University) & Ehrling, Leena (Tampere University) & Tolonen, Kari (Tampere University): Substance Abuse Treatment in Outpatient Clinics: Pre- and Post-treatment Surveys 2007-2010 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2020-07-31). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3367

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Materials

Rakkolainen, Maria (2017). Motivoivan haastattelun toteutuminen päihdehoidon alkutapaamisissa ja yhteys asiakkaan päihdehaittojen vähenemiseen. Akateeminen väitöskirja. Tampereen yliopisto: Tampere University Press. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-0504-8

Related Publications

Rakkolainen, Maria (2017). Motivoivan haastattelun toteutuminen päihdehoidon alkutapaamisissa ja yhteys asiakkaan päihdehaittojen vähenemiseen. Akateeminen väitöskirja. Tampereen yliopisto: Tampere University Press. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-0504-8

Rakkolainen, Maria, Koski-Jännes, Anja, Tolonen, Kari, Tuomisto, Martti T. (2015). Päihdeasiakkaan taustan ja motivoivan alkuhaastattelun yhteydet hoidon tuloksiin. Sosiaalilääketieteellinen aikakauslehti 52(2) 102-117.