Comparison of Youth Released From a Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Center to Youth at a Traditional Juvenile Correctional Center in Virginia, 1998-2000 (ICPSR 3538)
Version Date: Nov 4, 2005 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Jill A. Gordon, Virginia Commonwealth University
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03538.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the structured substance abuse treatment program at Barrett Juvenile Correction Center in Virginia by comparing the outcomes of youth admitted to Barrett with the outcomes of youth who were eligible for admittance to Barrett but were detained at one of the traditional juvenile correctional centers in Virginia. The effectiveness of Barrett's program was also assessed by comparing the outcomes of youth who were admitted to Barrett but who differed according to how many of the four phases of treatment, focused on modifying negative attitudes and behaviors, they completed. Barrett differs from the six other juvenile correctional centers in Virginia in that it provides a highly structured substance abuse treatment program to all admitted youth. Youth are considered for admission to Barrett if they are male, aged 11 to 18, have a sentence of six to 18 months, and have a recommended or mandatory need for substance abuse treatment as determined by the Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC), which assesses youths' needs prior to sentencing. Barrett's treatment program takes a therapeutic community approach, which emphasizes altering negative attitudes and behaviors through the completion of four sequential phases of treatment. In contrast, the goal of the traditional institutions was to achieve public safety while meeting the disciplinary, medical, recreational, and treatment needs of the youth. These facilities offered some treatment programs but only on an "as needed" basis. The sample for this study consists of all 412 youth released from Barrett Juvenile Correctional Center from July 1, 1998, to June 30, 2000, and a matched sample of 406 youth released from other juvenile correctional centers in Virginia during the same period. The treatment staff at Barrett submitted information on youths' treatment progress at the time of discharge. The RDC provided demographic, criminal history, and assessment information for all youths. The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice provided information concerning actual time served and recidivism at the juvenile level. The Virginia State Police supplied additional recidivism data, including information on adult recidivism. Parole officers also provided data on recidivism and on progress toward meeting the conditions of parole. Demographic variables included in the dataset are race of the offender and his age at commitment. Clinical variables for Barrett youth only are Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores, total number of categories for which the youth scored yes on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV), the length of the sentence, whether the youth had a recommended or mandatory need for substance abuse treatment, and the highest phase of treatment completed. Parole officers supplied data at three, six, and 12 months after release on whether they judged youths to be currently using a substance and whether youths were meeting the conditions of parole. These conditions included curfew, counseling services, educational programs, the employment requirement, and the electronic monitoring requirement. Also included are arrests and substance-related charges as reported by the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, the Virginia State Police, and parole officers. A variable for total reconvictions is included as well.
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Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
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Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
Barrett Juvenile Correctional Center differs from the six other juvenile correctional centers in Virginia in that it provides a highly structured substance abuse treatment program to all admitted youth. Youth are considered for admission to Barrett if they are male, aged 11 to 18, have a sentence of six to 18 months, and have a recommended or mandatory need for substance abuse treatment as determined by the Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC), which assesses youths' needs prior to sentencing. Barrett's treatment program takes a therapeutic community approach, which emphasizes altering negative attitudes and behaviors through the completion of four sequential phases of treatment. In contrast, the goal of the traditional institutions was to achieve public safety while meeting the disciplinary, medical, recreational, and treatment needs of the youth. These facilities offered treatment in the areas of substance abuse, sex offender education, individual and group therapy, skills counseling, and educational and vocational training to the youth. However, services were provided on an "as needed" basis. This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment program at Barrett by comparing the outcomes of youth admitted to Barrett with the outcomes of youth who were eligible for admittance to Barrett but were detained at one of the traditional juvenile correctional centers in Virginia. The effectiveness of Barrett's program was also assessed by comparing the outcomes of youth who were admitted to Barrett but differed according to how many of the four phases of treatment they completed.
Study Design View help for Study Design
The sample consists of all 412 youth released from Barrett Juvenile Correctional Center from July 1, 1998, to June 30, 2000, and a matched sample of 406 youth released from other juvenile correctional centers in Virginia during the same period. The treatment staff at Barrett submitted information on each youth's treatment progress at the time of discharge, which included phase of treatment completed, scores from the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI), and whether the youth had a mandatory or recommended need for substance abuse treatment. The researcher also followed up by examining case files for all youths released. The RDC provided demographic, criminal history, and assessment information for all youth, which included SASSI scores, Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test scores, and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) scores. The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice provided information concerning the actual time served and recidivism at the juvenile level. The Virginia State Police provided additional recidivism data, including information on adult recidivism. Each youth's parole officer was sent data collection instruments three, six, and 12 months after the youth was released from his institution. A reminder letter was also sent to parole officers two weeks after the initial mailing of the data collection instrument. Parole officers provided data on recidivism and assessed the substance use of the youth and the youth's progress toward meeting the conditions of parole.
Sample View help for Sample
Matched comparison sampling.
Universe View help for Universe
Youths with substance abuse problems who were released from Virginia juvenile correctional centers between July 1, 1998, and June 30, 2000.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Source View help for Data Source
administrative records, mailback questionnaires
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
Demographic variables included in the dataset are race of the offender and his age at commitment. Clinical variables for Barrett youth only are Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores, total number of categories for which the youth scored yes on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV), the length of the sentence, whether the youth had a recommended or mandatory need for substance abuse treatment, and the highest phase of treatment completed. Parole officers supplied data at three, six, and 12 months after release on whether they judged youths to be currently using a substance and whether youths were meeting the conditions of parole. These conditions included curfew, counseling services, educational programs, the employment requirement, and the electronic monitoring requirement. Also included are arrests and substance-related charges as reported by the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, the Virginia State Police, and parole officers. A variable for total reconvictions is included as well.
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
Not available.
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
Scales used were Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV), and an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test.
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2003-01-31
Version History View help for Version History
- Gordon, Jill A. COMPARISON OF YOUTH RELEASED FROM A RESIDENTIAL SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT CENTER TO YOUTH AT A TRADITIONAL JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL CENTER IN VIRGINIA, 1998-2000. ICPSR version. Richmond, VA: Jill A. Gordon, Virginia Commonwealth University [producer], 2002. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2003. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03538.v1
2005-11-04 On 2005-03-14 new files were added to one or more datasets. These files included additional setup files as well as one or more of the following: SAS program, SAS transport, SPSS portable, and Stata system files. The metadata record was revised 2005-11-04 to reflect these additions.
Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.