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Growth and Empowerment for Indigenous Australians in Substance Abuse Treatment

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Abstract

This paper describes psychosocial outcomes of an Indigenous residential substance abuse rehabilitation centre in Australia, examines the sensitivity to change of the new Growth and Empowerment Measure (GEM), and explores the degree to which service users value cultural components of the treatment program. Participants were 57 Indigenous and 46 non-Indigenous male clients from Oolong House. Intake, 8-weeks, and 16-weeks (program completion) measures of Kessler 10 Psychological Distress Scale (K10), Drug Taking Confidence Questionnaire (DTCQ-8), and GEM were completed. The Treatment Component Evaluation (TCE) was completed at 16-weeks. There were significant improvements for participants, with a decrease in psychological distress and increases in refusal self-efficacy and empowerment. Effect sizes for GEM were medium to large across the time-points (r = 0.61 to 0.70 for all four subscales from baseline to 8-weeks; r = 0.44 to 0.70 for three subscales from 8-weeks to 16-weeks), indicating sensitivity to change. Indigenous participants rated cultural components of treatment significantly more helpful than did non-Indigenous participants. Implications for future research and substance abuse interventions for Indigenous Australians are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

(1) This research was supported by a grant from the New South Wales Health Department and the Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies—Non government organisation mental health and drug and alcohol research grants program 2007.

(2) The authors acknowledge the hard work and contributions of the staff at Oolong House, as well as those who developed the GEM and shared their knowledge with us so generously, in particular Melissa Haswell.

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Correspondence to Stacey L. Berry.

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Berry, S.L., Crowe, T.P., Deane, F.P. et al. Growth and Empowerment for Indigenous Australians in Substance Abuse Treatment. Int J Ment Health Addiction 10, 970–983 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-012-9393-2

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