Stimulant Abuser Groups to Engage in 12-Step (STAGE-12): Impact on stimulant use and 12-step engagement.

Twelve-step groups represent a readily available, no-cost recovery source, are applicable to a broad range of clients in different settings, and are consistent with many community-based treatment program and counselor treatment philosophies. Though there is a crushing weight of data supporting the potential positive benefits of 12-step involvement, drop out and non-attendance rates continue to be high, despite clinical recommendations to attend. In the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network study “Stimulant Abuser Groups to Engage in 12-Step (STAGE-12),” a manual was developed based on Twelve-Step Facilitation Therapy and was then used to address two basic study questions: 1) Does STAGE-12 improve stimulant drug use outcomes in stimulant users compared to treatment-as-usual (TAU)? and 2) Does STAGE-12 improve attendance and involvement in 12-step groups compared to TAU? Data from the project, as well as information about the analysis of that data, is presented, along with a discussion of secondary outcome measures on which differences were found between STAGE-12 and TAU. STAGE-12 was found to increase the probability of abstinence from stimulants during and in the last 30 days of the active treatment phase, but if abstinence was NOT achieved during this period, rates of use appeared to be greater among STAGE-12 participants. STAGE-12 was also associated with greater number of days of 12-step meeting attendance, types of other 12-step activities engaged in, and number of days of self-reported service activities at 12-step meetings.