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Mental Health, Gender, and Drug Court Completion

NCJ Number
212462
Journal
American Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 30 Issue: 1 Dated: Fall 2005 Pages: 55-69
Author(s)
Alison R. Gray B.S.; Christine A. Saum Ph.D.
Date Published
2005
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study investigated relationships between mental health, gender, and program completion among participants in a Delaware drug court program.
Abstract
Despite evidence that drug-involved offenders display high rates of mental health problems, there has been little research attention paid to how mental health impacts the drug court outcomes of these offenders. The current study drew longitudinal data from a study conducted in Delaware by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which interviewed 586 outpatients regarding drug court treatment retention and post drug court outcomes over a 4-year period between 2000 and 2003. Variables under analysis included gender, substance abuse severity, criminal history, depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, medication for emotional or psychological problems, and drug court completion status. Results of logistic regression analyses indicated that depression and being prescribed medication for psychological or emotional problems were significantly and positively related to drug court completion. Moreover, female participants reported having experienced mental health problems two to four times more often than male participants and women were more likely than men to complete drug court requirements. The findings may suggest that participants under current mental health treatment, as indicated by their prescription medication, are at an advantage over untreated participants. It is thus critical that drug courts include mental health screenings and treatment as part of the program. Future research should focus on multiple indexes of mental health on drug court outcomes. Tables, references

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