Motivation Among Ex-Offenders Exiting Treatment: The Role of Abstinence Self-Efficacy

Relationship between anxiety and drug abstention motivation in men with substance use disorders: a cross-sectional study of compulsory isolation rehabilitation in China

Studies have found that anxiety is among the common negative emotions in individuals with substance use disorders. Anxiety affects drug abstention motivation, but the mechanism underlying this effect is still unclear. The current study aimed to examine the relationship among anxiety, regulatory emotional self-efficacy, psychological resilience and drug abstention motivation in an attempt to explore the mechanism underlying drug abstention motivation. The participants were 732 men with substance use disorders who were sent to compulsory rehabilitation in China. All participants completed measures of anxiety, regulatory emotional self-efficacy, psychological resilience and drug abstention motivation through questionnaires. The results indicated that anxiety negatively predicts drug abstention motivation. Regulatory emotional self-efficacy mediates the relationship between anxiety and drug abstention motivation. In addition, psychological resilience moderates the mediation between anxiety and regulatory emotional self-efficacy. The current results are not only helpful for understanding the relationship between anxiety and drug abstention motivation from the perspective of emotion but also of great significance for guiding individuals with substance use disorders in enhancing their drug abstention motivation by reducing negative emotion.

The Mediating Role of Forgiveness and Self-Efficacy in the Relationship Between Childhood Maltreatment and Treatment Motivation Among Malaysian Male Drug Addicts

Studies have reported high rates of childhood maltreatment among individuals with drug addiction problems; however, investigation about the potentially protective factors to mitigate the effects of maltreatment experiences on motivation to engage in addiction treatment has received less attention. This study aims at exploring the mediating effects of forgiveness and self-efficacy on the association between childhood maltreatment and treatment motivation among drug addicts. A total of 360 male drug addicts (mean age = 33.34, SD = 7.25) were recruited from three mandatory inpatient rehabilitation centers in Malaysia. Participants completed a package of self-report questionnaires including measures of childhood maltreatment experiences, forgiveness, self-efficacy, and motivation for treatment. The analysis conducted using the structural equation model (SEM) revealed that childhood maltreatment significantly predicted lower treatment motivation, while forgiveness and self-efficacy played a fully mediating role regarding the effect of childhood maltreatment on treatment motivation. In conclusion, these findings suggest that combining the element of forgiveness and self-efficacy in treatment programs appears to benefit the drug addicts with childhood maltreatment history.

Motivation to Change and Treatment Participation Among Syringe Service Program Utilizers in Rural Kentucky

PURPOSE

Kentucky experiences a disproportionate burden of substance use disorder (SUD), particularly in rural areas of the state. Multiple factors increase vulnerability to SUD and limit access to services in rural communities. However, the recent implementation and expansion of syringe service programs (SSPs) in rural Kentucky may provide a leverage point to reach at-risk people who inject drugs (PWID).

METHODS

Data were collected as part of an ongoing NIDA-funded study designed to examine uptake of SSPs among PWID in Appalachian Kentucky. Using Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS), the study enrolled a sample of 186 PWID SSP attenders across 3 rural Appalachian Kentucky counties and conducted face-to-face interviews regarding health behaviors, injecting practices, SSP utilization, and treatment services. Using logistic regression analyses, we examined consistent SSP use, as well as importance and confidence to reduce substance use as predictors of current treatment participation.

FINDINGS

For the prior 6 months, 44.6% of the sample reported consistent SSP use. Consistent use of SSPs was associated with treatment participation in the unadjusted logistic regression models. Significant predictors of treatment participation in the adjusted model included high confidence to reduce substance use, and not reporting primary methamphetamine injection.

CONCLUSIONS

Rurally located SSPs may play an important role in supporting confidence and motivation to change substance use behaviors among PWID impacted by SUD. SSPs may be critical venues for integration and expansion of prevention, health promotion, and treatment linkage services for this underserved population.

Measuring Offenders' Belief in the Possibility of Desistance

This article describes the use of a questionnaire to measure offenders' belief in the likelihood of their making a successful re-entry into society after having committed crime, a "belief in redeemability" (BIR) as described by Maruna and King. The 37 items for the scale were taken from statements by offenders about their prospects of making good. This set of items was tested with a pilot group of offenders recruited from clients on parole or on supervised bonds at community corrections offices in metropolitan Sydney, Australia, and their responses were coded to yield a score we called the "BIR" score. We found that scores displayed variance skewed toward an optimistic view, and we then used the items in a card sort task with a panel of graduate psychologists to explore whether the panel could identify underlying components of the broader BIR. There was a measure of agreement on three underlying components and these were further tested using five raters. We called the components that emerged the following: Belonging, Agency, and Optimism; Cronbach's alphas for these indicated acceptable internal consistency. The results are discussed in terms of their congruence with findings in the literature and their use in correctional practice.

Self-concept mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and abstinence motivation as well as self-efficacy among drug addicts

OBJECTIVE

Childhood maltreatment is widely accepted as a risk factor for drug addiction from adolescence to adulthood. However, the influence of childhood maltreatment on drug treatment related variables, such as drug abstinence motivation and self-concept, as well as self-efficacy, remains unclear. This study aims at exploring whether self-concept mediates the relationship between childhood maltreatment and abstinence motivation, as well as self-efficacy, among drug addicts.

METHODS

This study involves 816 (550 males, 226 females, mean age=34.59, range=16-58 years) drug addicts from compulsory detoxification units. Participants completed questionnaires, including the childhood trauma questionnaire 28 - item short form (CTQ - SF), Tennessee self-concept scale (TSCS), general self-efficacy scale (GSES), and drug abstinence motivation questionnaire (DAMQ).

RESULTS

The structural equation model (SEM) analysis, including total and specific forms of maltreatment scores, showed that childhood maltreatment was negatively associated with self-concept, self-efficacy, and abstinence motivation. Self-concept was positively associated with self-efficacy and abstinence motivation. Conversely, significant association between self-efficacy and abstinence motivation did not exist. An indirect analysis showed that self-concept mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and self-efficacy. Critically, self-concept arbitrated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and abstinence motivation. The indirect effect of self-concept between childhood maltreatment and abstinence motivation still existed when the total scores of maltreatment were replaced by the scores of specific forms of maltreatment.

CONCLUSIONS

These results demonstrated that self-concept is a critical factor in understanding the relationship between childhood maltreatment and abstinence motivation, as well as self-efficacy, among drug addicts. Improving the sense of self-worth may be an effective intervention therapy among drug addicts with childhood maltreatment history.

Reducing Economic Disparities for Female Offenders: The Oxford House Model

BACKGROUND

In the past 30 years the rate of increase in incarceration for females who abuse substances has outpaced that of men. Women have increased health and economic disparities, and face barriers to economic mobility, increasing their risk of returning to the criminal justice system. Past research suggests that there is a positive relationship between living in Oxford House and employment wages, yet the impact of having a criminal history on this relationship was unknown.

METHOD

This study used a nationwide sample of 136 women living in Oxford Houses in a regression analysis with length of stay in Oxford House predicting employment wages, and moderated by criminal history.

RESULTS

There was a positive relationship between length of stay and wages. Criminal history modified the association between length of stay and wages, and length of stay had a significantly greater impact on wages for women with criminal convictions.

IMPLICATIONS

The findings provide a contribution to alcohol and drug abuse and economic literature by identifying a setting that decreases economic disparities for formerly incarcerated women. Results can inform future policy, research, and the development of gender sensitive aftercare programs that address the needs of women, assisting transitioning women in reentering mainstream society, and increasing their chances of obtaining and retaining employment.