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James F. Maddux, MD; David P. Desmond, MSW

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1982;39(11):1313-1317.

Abstract
• Residence relocation affected opioid drug use among 248 addicts in San Antonio, Tex. One hundred seventy-one subjects reported a total of 465 relocations away from San Antonio during a mean follow-up period of 20 years. Subjects were voluntarily abstinent 54% of the time during relocation and 12% of the time during San Antonio residence. The frequency of one-year abstinence after relocation (17%) was nearly three times greater than that after 1,654 treatment and correctional interactions (6%). Treatment preceding relocation led to a notably higher frequency of abstinence (31%). When abstinent subjects returned to San Antonio, they resumed opioid use within one month in 81% of the cases. Possible explanatory factors include drug availability, conditioned abstinence, and peer modeling. The findings suggest that relocation of patients should often be encouraged rather than discouraged.

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication Aug 12, 1981.

Reprint requests to Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78284 (Dr Maddux).

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