Recovery-oriented perceptions as predictors of reincarceration
Received 23 May 2005; received in revised form 21 February 2006; accepted 22 March 2006.
Abstract
The present prospective study explored whether a specific class of client subjective assessments predicts later recovery. Measures of client perceptions of self-change in substance abusers were obtained a year after release from a prison-based therapeutic community. Analyses assessed the contribution of these perceptions—along with motivation, age, and risk index of social deviancy—in predicting reincarceration at 3-year follow-up.
Results showed that two factors (Individual Growth and Socialization) significantly differentiated reincarceration and nonreincarceration at 1-year postrelease and significantly predicted reincarceration at 3-year follow-up. Findings underscore the relevance of perceptions of self-change early in recovery to later recovery behaviors. Research on recovery factors needs a uniform assessment protocol, which organizes client perceptions, beliefs, and attributions in accordance with a recovery stage framework.
aNational Development and Research Institutes, New York, NY 10010, USA
bUCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Corresponding author. National Development and Research Institutes, 71 West 23rd Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10010, USA. Tel.: +1 212 845 4417; fax: +1 917 438 0894.
ABSTRACT