In a prior study [Festinger, D.S., Mar
lowe, D.B., Croft, J.R.,
Dugosh, K.L., Mastro, N.K., Lee, P.A., DeMatteo, D.S., Patapis, N.S., 2005. Do research payments precipitate drug use or coerce participation? Drug A
lcoho
l Depend. 78 (3) 275–281] we found that neither the mode (cash vs. gift card) nor magnitude ($10, $40, or $70) of research fo
llow-up payments increased rates of new drug use or perceptions of coercion. However, higher payments and payments in cash were associated with better fo
llow-up attendance, reduced tracking efforts, and improved participant satisfaction with the study. The present study extended those findings to higher payment magnitudes. Participants from an urban outpatient substance abuse treatment program were random
ly assigned to receive $70, $100, $130, or $160 in either cash or a gift card for comp
leting a fo
llow-up assessment at 6 months post-admission (
n ![](http://www.sciencedirect.com/scidirimg/entities/2245.gif)
lt="congruent with" tit
le="congruent with" border="0"> 50 per ce
ll). Apart from the payment incentives, a
ll participants received a standardized, minima
l p
latform of fo
llow-up efforts. Findings revea
led that neither the magnitude nor mode of payment had a significant effect on new drug use or perceived coercion. Consistent with our previous findings, higher payments and cash payments resu
lted in significant
ly higher fo
llow-up rates and fewer tracking ca
lls. In addition participants receiving cash vs. gift cards were more
like
ly to use their payments for essentia
l, non-
luxury purchases. Fo
llow-up rates for participants receiving cash payments of $100, $130, and $160 approached or exceeded the FDA required minimum of 70%for studies to be considered in eva
luations of new medications. This suggests that the use of higher magnitude payments and cash payments may be effective strategies for obtaining more representative fo
llow-up samp
les without increasing new drug use or perceptions of coercion.