NCJ Number
188944
Journal
Substance Use and Misuse Volume: 36 Issue: 5 Dated: 2001 Pages: 589-608
Date Published
2001
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews outcome studies on drug and alcohol offenders whom the criminal justice system has coerced into treatment through methadone maintenance, therapeutic community, and residential and community-based programs without a specific treatment philosophy.
Abstract
The rate of coerced referrals to drug treatment programs from the criminal justice system has increased dramatically since the 1980's. However, most drug offenders do not receive treatment. In addition, definitions of the term coerced treatment vary. The review of outcome studies revealed positive outcomes for therapeutic community, methadone maintenance, and unspecified residential and community programs. The review did not discover any outcome studies for court-mandated individuals coerced into recovery programs based on the social model. Findings indicated that when developing studies, researchers should consider how individuals perceive legal mandates and whether they are receiving pressures to enter treatment from other sources, including family members, employers, friends, or the welfare system. The analysis concluded that drug treatment coerced by the criminal justice system is effective in varied programs, that research is lacking on social model programs, and that the use of the Social Model Philosophy Scale would help identify the characteristics of social model programs that predict outcomes among subgroups of coerced participants. Table and 60 references (Author abstract modified)