The following is a summary of “Effectiveness of substance use disorder treatment as an alternative to imprisonment,” published in the April 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Virtanen al.
Drug courts, an alternative to jail for those struggling with addiction, are widely used, but debate surrounds their effectiveness in reducing recidivism and health problems.
Researchers conducted a prospective study using Swedish national registry data to assess how well contract treatment sanction (Sweden’s drug court program) reduces substance abuse, mental and physical health problems, and criminal re-offending.
They utilized two quasi-experimental designs, difference-in-differences and within-individual design (comparing outcomes risk during contract treatment to parole after imprisonment and probation).
The results showed 11,893 individuals in the cohort (13% women) who underwent contract treatment, there was a reduction of 7 % points (95% CI: -.088, -.055) in substance misuse, 5 % points (-.064, -.034) in adverse mental health events, 9 % points (-.113, -.076) in adverse somatic health events, and 3 fewer charges (-3.16, -2.85) for crime in difference-in-differences analyses. During contract treatment, outcomes showed longer durations compared to parole or probation within individuals.
Investigators concluded that contract treatment significantly reduced recidivism and improved health outcomes, proving more effective than imprisonment for its target group and suggesting a less punitive approach can be successful.
Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-024-05734-y