Analysis of Disulfiram and Court School Programs - Final Report

• NCJ Number: 76638
• Author(s): M H Miner
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 71 pages
• Contract Number(s): DOT-HS-161-2-252
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Admin
• Sale Source: National Technical Information Service; Not Available Through National Institute of Justice/NCJRS Document Loan Program
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. Report performed by the Los Angeles County (CA) Alcohol Safety Action Project.

Annotation

This study dealt with the disulfiram program at the San Gabriel Valley Alcohol Rehabilitation Clinic (ARC) and the Level II Court School program at the Twin Palms Recovery Center in California.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of the treatment program at the ARC. Subjects from the ARC and court school were matched on blood-alcohol content (BAC) and prior alcohol-related arrests to ensure that the two groups would be comparable. (Other demographic variables for the two samples were comparable.) The court school sample could then be used as a comparison group with which to compare treatment effects from the ARC. Effectiveness of the program was measured in two ways: pre/posttreatment questionnaires and driving records. The questionnaires gave two measures of effectiveness: social adjustment and consumption of alcohol. Information gained from subjects' driving records allowed for a comparison of recidvism rates. (A no-treatment control group was added to the original two groups for this comparison). The study found that subjects from both the disulfiram and the court school group reported that the treatment program had been helpful; that subjects from the disulfiram group showed a statistically significant difference between their pretreatment and posttreatment social adjustment scores; that the abstinence rate for the disulfiram sample was significantly higher than that for the court school sample; that both the disulfiram treatment and court school groups showed a significantly smaller number of alcohol-related arrests than did the no-treatment group; and that the total ARC budget for fiscal year 1975-76 was $253,281. Recommendations for future research and programs are given. Twenty-eight tables and 3 figures are given; 4 appendixes contain study-related materials. A bibliography contains 17 citations. (Author abstract modified)