Contingent Reinforcement for Benzodiazepine‐free Urines: Evaluation of a Drug Abuse Treatment Intervention

This study evaluated contingent reinforcement for benzodiazepine-free urines as a therapeutic intervention for promoting reduced use of supplemental benzodiazepine drugs among methadone maintenance outpatients. Ten methadone maintenance patients were selected for participation on the basis of positive urinalysis results. During a 12-week intervention period these patients were offered clinic privileges, including monetary payments or methadone take-home doses, contingent on benzodiazepine negative urinalysis test results. Eight of ten participants responded to the intervention with at least 2.5 weeks of consecutive clean urines. An increase in benzodiazepine-negative tests during the contingent reinforcement period was significant for the group as a whole. The results suggest that more widespread application of contingent reinforcement procedures may be warranted in drug abuse treatment clinics.