PLANNING for the effective rehabilitation of the narcotics addict requires a great deal more information than we presently possess. Rational planning must rest upon an understanding of the characteristics of the addict and his circumstances which are associated with successful or unsuccessful postinstitutional adjustment. In addition to asking the question "What factors differentiate the addict from the nonaddict?" we must seek the answer to "What characteristics differentiate the subject who successfully adapts (eg, by abstinence from drug use) from one who relapses into deviant patterns during given postinstitutional periods, with regard to pretreatment characteristics of the individual and his social milieu, variability in treatment conditions, and postinstitutional experiences?"1
A number of investigators are devoting efforts to such questions although the results thus far have been fragmentary and few, due in large part to methodological difficulties inherent in follow-up studies.2 Some