The role of social support and continuing care as predictors of women's prison-based substance abuse treatment outcomes

by Stevens, Tia M.

Joseph E. Jacoby, Advisor In recent decades the number of women under criminal justice supervision has increased considerably. Approximately a quarter of all women under the care or custody of adult criminal justice authorities have been convicted of a drug offense. Additionally, beyond being arrested and convicted for a drug offense, women in prison are more likely than their non-institutionalized counterparts to suffer from a substance abuse disorder. While there is a growing body of research concerning women offenders’ drug abuse and treatment needs, few studies have examined the substance abuse treatment outcomes of women in the criminal justice system. The purpose of this thesis was to assess the following hypotheses: (1) Women offenders with higher treatment motivation at intake into prison-based treatment will be more likely to participate in substance abuse aftercare following release; (2) Women who receive more community-based aftercare following in-prison substance abuse treatment will be less likely to relapse; (3) Participation in community aftercare will be more negatively related to substance abuse relapse at high levels of social support; and (4) Participation in community aftercare will be more positively related to better psychological functioning at higher levels of social support. Using data from the Forever Free Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program at the California Institution for Women, these hypotheses were analyzed using a variety of statistical modeling strategies: four linear regressions, estimated with ordinary least squares, one binary logistic regression, and one negative binomial regression. iii Multivariate analyses revealed that levels of treatment motivation were significantly, and positively, related participation in post-prison aftercare. However, the results of these regressions did not provide support for the claim that increased participation in community-based aftercare leads to lower levels of relapse and more positive psychological functioning. Furthermore, the interaction of aftercare with social support on psychological functioning and relapse, was non-significant in all regression analyses, indicating that the effects of participation in community aftercare on substance abuse relapse and psychological functioning do not depend on level of social support received. . iv :