The social networks of drug abusers before and after treatment.

Changes in the social networks of a sample of 38 drug abusers are studied from pretreatment to 1 and 3 months following treatment. Overall network composition changed to include fewer drug users and fewer long-term acquaintances. While the pretreatment networks of those who used opiates and those who did not use opiates in the follow-up period were virtually the same, the posttreatment networks of opiate abusers contained greater social influence toward drug use following treatment. Implications for treatment are discussed.