Treatment Readmissions and Criminal Recidivism in Youth Following Participation in Chemical Dependency Treatment

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to use administrative records of admissions to substance abuse treatment to construct episodes of care for publicly funded adolescent clients in Washington State, and then to analyze two important outcomes after an index episode: readmissions to treatment and criminal convictions (including felony convictions and any conviction). The study population was youth, ages 14 to 17, who began and ended an index episode in 1997 and 1998 (n = 5903). The youth were followed for 18 months after the end of their episode, and survival analysis techniques were used to determine the treatment correlates of the outcomes. Clients who completed treatment, compared to those who did not, had significantly lower risks of each outcome, while those with treatment episodes longer than 90 days had lower risks of readmission and felony convictions.

Key Words:

• Substance abuse treatment
• outcomes
• treatment histories