ABSTRACT
There have been few evaluations of substance use interventions for forensic psychiatric patients. In this study, we evaluated a manualized substance use treatment for forensic inpatients by comparing 35 treatment completers (who attended 75% or more of their sessions) and 30 non-completers (less than 75%) on self-report and urinalysis measures. The treatment completer group showed significant increases in substance-related knowledge and self-reported relapse prevention skills, but there was no significant difference between completers and non-completers in time to first substance use (if any) or in having a positive urine screen result 12 or 24 months after participation in the program. The results indicated improvement in knowledge and self-reported skills, but this did not translate to decreased substance use as measured by urinalysis. Implications for substance use treatment are discussed.
Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
Both Dr. Ahmed and Mrs. Adamson are authors of this unpublished treatment manual. All other authors report no conflicts of interest.