Important Activities Among Justice-Involved Individuals with Substance Use Disorders in Posttreatment Aftercare Settings

ABSTRACT

This study gathered data using the Important Persons and Activities instrument to record changes in popular activities over a 2-year study of 270 justice-involved individuals randomized into three aftercare conditions: self-run Oxford Houses, a staffed therapeutic community (TC), or usual aftercare (UA). Participants listed important activities during the 2-year study at baseline and at four subsequent 6-month intervals. Categorization of these activities and a descriptive analysis were conducted for Wave 1 (baseline), at Wave 3 (Year 1), and Wave 5 (Year 2). Standardized scores were computed to test differences in proportions of the #1 most favored activity across conditions. Descriptive results also demonstrated that Reading/Writing activities, and Exercise/Sports activities, were most reported at baseline. By Wave 5, Education/Work and Interacting with Others were the most reported activities. These findings indicated that solitary activities, such as Reading/Writing, may play a predominant role in early aftercare whereas Work/Education and social activities increase later on. Impli-cations for future research of changing activities during recovery trajectories are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Important People and Activities Inventory
• justice-involved
• substance use disorders
• aftercare
• Oxford House
• recovery capital

Funding

The authors appreciate the financial support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Grants DA13231 and DA19935).

Additional information

Funding

The authors appreciate the financial support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Grants DA13231 and DA19935).