Latent Class Analysis of Alcohol Treatment Utilization Patterns and 3-Year Alcohol Related Outcomes

• Most persons who seek treatment for alcohol-related problems report several treatment episodes including combinations of professional (e.g. from addiction treatment programs) and informal help (e.g. Alcoholics Anonymous [AA]).
• In the current study, using latent class analysis, we established treatment utilization profiles among adults who sought treatment for alcohol use over a 3-year period.
• Four classes emerged: Multiservice users (8.7%), (2) private professional service users (32.8%), (3) alcoholics anonymous (AA) paired with specialty addiction service users (22.0%), and (4) users of AA alone (36.5%).
• Regression models examined how classes of treatment use at baseline were associated with alcohol-related outcomes assessed at a 3-year follow-up interview, controlling for social and clinical characteristics.
• AA paired with specialty addiction service users class showed lower AUDIT-C scores, higher odds of abstinence, and a lower odds of any alcohol use disorder compared to individuals from the class who used AA alone.

People who obtain treatment for alcohol use problems often utilize multiple sources of help. While prior studies have classified treatment use patterns for alcohol use, an empirical classification of these patterns is lacking. For the current study, we created an empirically derived classification of treatment use and described how these classifications were prospectively associated with alcohol-related outcomes. Our sample included 257 participants of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) who first received alcohol treatment in the 3-year period prior to their baseline interview. We used latent class analysis to identify classes of treatment users based on their patterns of treatment use of 13 types of alcohol treatment. Regression models examined how classes of treatment use at baseline were associated with alcohol-related outcomes assessed at a 3-year follow-up interview. Outcomes included a continuous measure of the quantity and frequency of alcohol use and DSM-IV alcohol use disorder status. Four classes of treatment users were identified: (1) multiservice users (8.7%), (2) private professional service users (32.8%), (3) alcoholics anonymous (AA) paired with specialty addiction service users (22.0%), and (4) users of AA alone (36.5%). Those who utilized AA paired with specialty addiction services had better outcomes compared to those who used AA alone. In addition to elucidating the most common treatment utilization patterns executed by people seeking help for their alcohol problems, the results from this study suggest that increased efforts may be needed to refer individuals across sectors of care to improve treatment outcomes.