| Women with substance use disorders represent an important yet vastly under-researched population in the scholarly research. Few studies exist that evaluate the role of personality factors in treatment success, and to date no studies evaluate both life stressors and personality variables among women in treatment for substance use disorders. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the roles of personality and life stressors on treatment success versus attrition for women in treatment for substance use disorders, and to add to the growing collection of data using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF). Data was collected from MHS Family Recovery Center, a local residential treatment center for women with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health disorders. The goal of this research was to determine the role personality variables measured by the MMPI-2-RF on treatment success, and to evaluate the role of life stressors on treatment completion. Specifically, this study examined whether there were differences on treatment completers versus treatment non-completers using MMPI-2-RF measures of substance abuse (SUB), defensiveness (Scale K-r), demoralization (RCd), and level of life stressors as measured by the Holmes and Rahe Life Stress Inventory. This study also evaluated specific demographic variables such as number of children and age of patient based on results from previous studies on treatment attrition rates. Results found that neither the hypothesized personality variables nor the demographic factors differentiated the two groups significantly. However, the degree of a patient's life stressors was found to differentiate the two groups at a highly significant level, suggesting important clinical implications for substance abuse treatment. Post-hoc analyses indicated additional MMPI-2-RF scales that differentiated the groups significantly. |
