Cocaine use is a significant problem among
methadone maintenance clients. Contingency management (CM) is a reinforcement-based approach with demonstrated efficacy for reducing
cocaine use. This study examines whether the efficacy of CM treatment for
cocaine-dependent individuals receiving
methadone maintenance for
opioid dependence differs by ethnicity. Participants were 191 African American, Hispanic, and White
cocaine-dependent
methadone maintenance clients, randomly assigned to standard
methadone treatment or standard
methadone treatment plus CM for 12 weeks. Hispanic participants were younger, less educated, and reported fewer years of
cocaine use than did African American and White participants and reported fewer years of
heroin use than did African American participants. African American participants were less likely to report a history of psychiatric symptoms or treatment in comparison with Hispanic and White participants. While CM was associated with longer duration of continuous
cocaine abstinence and a greater proportion of submitted urine samples negative for
cocaine, ethnicity was not related to treatment outcomes, and there was no significant interaction between treatment and ethnicity. CM appears to be an efficacious treatment for
cocaine dependence among
methadone maintenance clients, regardless of ethnicity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).