Faculty Bibliography

The present study sought to determine whether gender-specific differences existed in the perception of drug user treatment services delivered at a residential substance misuse treatment program operated by a large youth correctional agency in the western United States. Hypothesized gender differences in perceptions of treatment services and treatment-related needs were confirmed in a number of areas such as treatment engagement, counseling needs, and postrelease concerns. Findings of this exploratory study underscore the need to consider gender-specific issues in correctional substance misuse treatment for young offenders.

For many drug users, the initiation of drug use and the subsequent transition to an addiction career is accompanied by criminal activities. However, the use of general crime and drug use categories often obscures important features of their relationship. In the present study, data from the national Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Studies sample of 7, 189 clients in substance abuse treatment were analyzed to explore the relationships between several addiction career variables and the likelihood of lifetime participation in predatory, victimless, and nonspecialized criminal behaviors. The order of initiation of addiction and criminal careers was significantly related to participation in certain types of crimes, with those beginning criminal careers after beginning their addiction careers being more likely to engage exclusively in victimless than in predatory crimes. Likewise, dependence on cocaine, heroin, or both, relative to alcohol, was associated with greater criminal diversity but a reduced likelihood of participating specifically in predatory crimes. © 2001 Sage Publications, Inc.

In 1992, the California Department of Corrections established, under legislative authorization, the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility (CSATF). With a treatment capacity of 1,478, the CSATF is currently the largest in-prison therapeutic community in the state, and one of the largest in the country. A number of measures from a process evaluation of the program suggest that the presence of a therapeutic community within a prison is associated with significant advantages for management of the institution-including lower rates of infractions, reduced absenteeism among correctional staff, and virtually no illicit drug use among inmates. These objective data are further supported by responses from inmates and correctional staff at the institution who participated in focus groups. © 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.