Overview
Rounding off the Central Eight is substance misuse. Subsumed under substance misuse are alcohol use and the use of illegal drugs. The purpose for separating alcohol use from other drug use is twofold. First, the relationship between alcohol use and crime is generally weaker than the relationship between illegal drug use and crime. Second, the criminal justice system is far less tolerant of drug use than alcohol use. For adults, purchasing alcohol is legal, and consuming alcohol is punished in only specified situations (e.g., driving under the influence). The possession and use of illegal drugs, even small amounts, can result in severe criminal justice penalties.
The chapter reviews the prediction literature in order to evaluate the magnitude of the predictive validity for both alcohol and drug misuse. Both are also dynamic risk factors. That is, they change; one can develop a substance use problem and one can leave it behind. The treatment literature clearly shows the changeable quality to substance use and how it can be addressed.
Worth Remembering
- Alcohol and other drug use are quite prevalent among criminal justice populations, but their relationship to crime is moderate. Meta-analytic findings of correlational studies of alcohol/drug use and crime show average effect sizes (r) in the range of 0.10 to 0.20. There is no conclusive evidence that alcohol use actually causes crime, although there is a more direct link with illicit drug use.
- Treating those who misuse substances has been more effective than the “war on drugs.” Punishing drug users through the increased use of imprisonment has not reduced reoffending rates. Treatment programs appear to be a more effective way of dealing with the substance misuser.
- Drug courts hold promise but they can be much more effective if the treatments offered are more in line with the latest evidence from the correctional rehabilitation literature.
Quiz
Further Reading
Archer, M., Harwood, H., Stevelink, S., Rafferty, L., & Greenberg, N. (2020). Community reinforcement and family training and rates of treatment entry: a systematic review. Addictions, 115, 1024-1037.
Currie, E. (1993). Reckoning: Drugs, the cities, and the American future. New York, NY: Hill and Wang.
Dodes, L., & Dodes, Z. (2014). The sober truth: Debunking the bad science behind 12-step recovery programs and the rehab industry. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Miller, W. R., & Carroll, K. M. (2006). Rethinking substance abuse: What the science shows, and what we should do about it. New York, NY: Guilford.