When seeking treatment for alcohol use disorder, how a person is functioning in society strongly influences how long they will stay in inpatient treatment. According to a study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, people who are dissatisfied in their primary social role—at work or school, for example—and people with a strong social network stay in treatment longer, giving them more opportunities for therapeutic intervention. The study highlights the importance of helping people in treatment for alcohol use disorder to strengthen their social network and social role.
The purpose of the study was to examine the modifiable factors affecting how long a patient stays in inpatient treatment for alcohol use disorder. Longer duration of stay is considered to be more beneficial to patients. Researchers collected data on 800 people being admitted to a short-term inpatient facility center in greater New York City between 2022 and 2024 to treat their alcohol and substance use disorders.
Sixty-five percent of participants used alcohol as their primary substance. The average length of stay in treatment ranged from two days to 43 days. A preliminary analysis found that total well-being, symptom distress, social role, total social network size, and alcohol use severity were significant predictors of length of stay; those factors were further analyzed. The preliminary analysis did not find an association between age, sex, race, ethnicity, or substance use disorder severity and length of stay.
Further analysis found that social role, social network size, and severity of alcohol use disorder all significantly increased length of stay. Specifically, for each additional point on the social role measure, the length of stay increased by 0.12 days. This scale measures the individual’s satisfaction with what they consider to be their primary social role, whether in a work, school, volunteer, or other setting. The higher the number on this scale, which ranges from 9 to 45, the more dysfunctional the person’s social role. Individuals generally dissatisfied with their social role may be more inclined to stay in treatment to improve their function in those roles—or may be required to do so by their school or workplace.
Each of the three additional people listed in a patient’s social network was associated with an increased length of stay in treatment of one day. This result aligns with prior studies and may be because a larger social network means more support during treatment and more motivation to stay in treatment. The study also found that for every three additional alcohol use disorder symptoms a participant reported, their length of stay increased by one day.
The authors recommend further research at other treatment facilities and note that the study findings provide important insights for clinicians who can easily incorporate the social functioning measures used in the study into intake processes and communications among treatment teams, for example, through electronic health records. They recommend that treatment aims to improve the patient’s social functioning during treatment and after discharge, for instance, through vocational rehabilitation, and that clinicians leverage patients’ social networks to support their treatment and recovery.
Correlates of length of stay in a short-term inpatient residential addiction treatment facility. J. Bourdon, S. Verdecanna, J. Wright, N. Vadhan, M.F. Wright, J. Morgenstern
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