Male methamphetamine-user inmates in prison treatment: During-treatment outcomes

Abstract

Psychosocial functioning and criminal thinking of methamphetamine-using inmates were examined before and after their completion of primary treatment in three in-prison drug treatment programs (one “outpatient” and two different modified TCs). The sample consisted of 2,026 adult male inmates in 30 programs in Indiana. Data included background, psychosocial functioning, criminal thinking, and therapeutic engagement indicators. Multi-level repeated measures analysis was used to evaluate changes during treatment and multi-level covariate analysis adjusted for sample differences in tests of between-treatment differences. Significant improvements were found for all three treatments, but the two modified TCs showed significantly better progress than did outpatient treatment housed among the general prison population. Significant predictors of treatment progress included baseline psychosocial functioning and background, wherein higher psychosocial functioning and lower criminal thinking orientation predicted stronger therapeutic engagement. However, treatment engagement level was found to mediate during-treatment improvement and initial criminal thinking.

Texas Christian University (TCU) Short Forms for Assessing Client Needs and Functioning in Addiction Treatment

“…For during-treatment information, these CEST scales can be expanded to include indicators of therapeutic engagement (Joe, Broome, Rowan-Szal, & Simpson, 2002). While original development and testing of the CEST scales were carried out in community-based treatment settings, they subsequently have been modified for a wide range of applications for CJ-involved drug users (e.g., Garner, Knight, Flynn, Morey, & Simpson, 2007; Joe, Rowan-Szal, Greener, Simpson, & Vance, 2010), including international settings (Simpson et al, 2009). …”

The Influence of Client Risks and Treatment Engagement on Recidivism

“…A study by Joe, Rowan-Szal, Greener, Simpson, and Vance (2010) assessing the efficacy of in-prison treatment for male methamphetamine abusers demonstrated that criminal thinking predicts treatment engagement better than other variables, including psychosocial functioning. Likewise, Taxman, Rhodes, and Dumenci (2011) studied the criminal thinking patterns of drug-using probationers and found that those with higher levels of criminal thinking were less likely to engage in treatment.…”

A systematic review of evaluations of prison‐based alcohol and other drug use behavioural treatment for men

“…Year of publication: Twelve evaluations were published between 1995 and 2005 25–36 and 13 between 2006 and 2015 37–49 …”

“…Country of origin: Over half the evaluations were of programs in the United States ( n =15), 25–28,31–34,36,38,39,41,43,45,48 there were two each from Canada 37,46 and Taiwan, 29,47 and one each from Australia, 35 Croatia, 30 Japan, 40 Poland, 49 the United Kingdom (Wales), 44 and South Korea 42 …”