Problem Severity and Motivation for Treatment in Incarcerated Substance Abusers

• NCJ Number: 226051
• Journal: Substance Use and Misuse Volume: 44 Issue: 1 Dated: 2009 Pages: 28-41
• Author(s): Matthew L. Hiller; Egle Narevic; J. Matthew Webster; Paul Rosen; Michele Staton; Carl Leukefeld; Thomas F. Garrity; Rebecca Kayo
• Date Published: 2009
• Length: 14 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01 DA11309
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined predictors of treatment motivation in incarcerated substance abusers.

Abstract

Findings showed that higher problem severity was related to higher levels of motivation for treatment in drug-use-involved prisoners, including those in a prison-based substance abuse treatment program and those in the general prison population. Consistent with “hitting bottom,” results showed that higher levels of employment problems, family problems, mental health, and physical health problems were related to higher treatment motivation scores. In addition, age was the strongest predictor of treatment motivation scores, suggesting that maturing might be a viable and perhaps stronger explanation for treatment motivation among prisoners. Findings also showed that motivation could be effectively measured among prisoners, replicating high internal consistency reliability for the problem recognition, and desire for help scores shown in other samples for the Treatment Motivation Assessment. Data were collected from 661 male inmates in 4 Kentucky prisons, including 220 individual enrolled in a substance use treatment program, and a comparable group of 441 general population inmates who were not in treatment at the time of the study. Tables, glossary, and references