NCJ Number
214350
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 42 Issue: 2 Dated: 2005 Pages: 25-34
Date Published
2005
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study explored the impact of an early prison release incentive on inmates’ perceptions of substance abuse treatment helpfulness and overall satisfaction with substance abuse treatment.
Abstract
Results revealed that the early release incentive encouraged inmate participation in substance abuse treatment but did not impact inmates’ perceptions of treatment helpfulness and did not hinder their pursuit of different treatment topics and skills. However, significant differences were noted between inmates who were eligible for the early release incentive and those who were not in terms of overall satisfaction and perceived helpfulness of substance abuse treatment. Qualitative data indicated that those who had been in treatment longer had higher rates of perceived helpfulness, suggesting that treatment longevity is the key to the experience of positive treatment outcomes. Participants were 87 male inmates who were in their first, third, or sixth month of residential drug treatment (27 inmates were in the 1-month group, 30 inmates were in the 3-month group, and 30 inmates were in the 6-month group). Participants completed a 2-page survey assessing substance abuse history and experiences of residential treatment services. Basic descriptive statistics were generated and a content analysis was undertaken on the written responses to the open-ended questions. Future studies should attempt to replicate these findings with larger and more diverse populations and might expand the scope of the study to include a broader range of therapeutic outcomes. Tables, references, notes