NCJ Number
210545
Journal
Substance Use & Misuse Volume: 40 Issue: 7 Dated: 2005 Pages: 975-996
Date Published
2005
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This study evaluated client characteristics and post-treatment outcomes among youth admitted to a modified therapeutic community treatment program known as Recovery House (RH).
Abstract
The RH program offers a therapeutic approach that integrates a therapeutic community (TC) treatment model with juvenile justice perspectives by emphasizing the use of positive peer role models to facilitate change in the offender. Data for the analysis of the RH program were drawn from a 5-year post-treatment outcome study of 938 adolescent clients admitted to TC programs throughout the United States and Canada between 1992 and 1994. A subsample of 200 males and 82 females who were admitted to 2 RH programs is the focus of the current analysis. Under examination were pretreatment, admissions, and outcome variables which included indicators of psychosocial status, substance use, and criminal offending. Results of statistical analyses revealed that the youths admitted to RH programs were primarily abusing marijuana and to a lesser extent, alcohol at the time of program admission. Participants of RH programs also presented with multiple psychiatric disorders, Conduct Disorder being the most prevalent among the youthful offenders. Post-treatment outcomes included infrequent drug use and reductions in criminal offending among RH participants; post-treatment outcomes were better among females than among males despite the lower rate of female program completion. Overall, RH programs may be considered effective at both diverting youthful offenders from incarceration and reducing re-offending behavior. Implications of the findings for juvenile offender programming are discussed. Tables, references