The Effectiveness of Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts: A Meta-Analytic Review of Literature

Abstract

Reviewed are 31 studies that evaluated recidivism rates from juvenile drug treatment courts relative to a random-assignment or convenience comparison group. Recidivism was defined as re-referral, new charges, or re-arrest. Mean effect sizes and confidence intervals are provided for the three recidivism assessment time frames most often used by researchers (e.g., recidivism occurring “during the drug court program”; “during, plus post-program”; and “post-program only”). Characteristics of youths and programs that were hypothesized to correlate with the size of effect (e.g., gender and ethnic proportions of program participants, methodological quality of studies) were examined in an attempt to account for variation in effect sizes across studies. The average premature termination rate from drug court programs, as a face-valid indicator of typical program effectiveness, is also reported. The results, based on significantly more studies than past reviews, show that juvenile drug court treatment program youths, relative to controls, had slightly more gains than short-term, pre-to-post-program assessments. Results are compared to adult drug court outcomes, and program and participant correlates of effect size are discussed. Suggestions for further research into possible improvements of programs are offered.

Keywords:

• delinquency
• drug court
• meta-analysis
• substance abuse