Performance of the CJDATS Co-Occurring Disorders Screening Instruments (CODSIs) among minority offenders

Previous research has shown the performance of the CJDATS Co-Occurring Disorders Screening Instruments (CODSI-MD and SMD)--six- and three-item instruments to screen for any mental disorder (CODSI-MD) and for severe mental disorders (CODSI-SMD), respectively--to be comparable or superior to other, longer instruments. This study tested the stability of the performance of the CODSI-MD and SMD across three racial/ethnic groups of offenders entering prison substance abuse treatment programs (n = 353), consisting of 96 African American, 120 Latino, and 137 White admissions. The Structured Clinical Interview (SCID) was used to obtain DSM-IV Axis I and II diagnoses; a lifetime SCID diagnosis of a mental disorder or a severe mental disorder was the criterion against which the CODSI-MD and SMD were validated. Results showed no statistical differences in sensitivity or specificity for either the CODSI-MD or SMD across the African American, Latino, and White prisoner groups. The value of the CODSI-MD and SMD as brief screens for mental disorders among offenders with diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds is discussed.     

Community-based co-occurring disorder (COD) intermediate and advanced treatment for offenders

Against a backdrop of increasing concern about the adequacy of treatment for co-occurring substance use and mental disorders (typically known as "co-occurring disorders," or COD) in the criminal justice system, this article attempts to provide empirical evidence for a typology of levels of COD treatment for offenders in both prison and community settings. The paper investigates two levels of treatment programs for COD; "intermediate" programs, in which treatment programming has been designed primarily for offenders with a single disorder, and "advanced" programs, in which programming has been designed to provide integrated substance abuse treatment and mental health services. Findings from a national survey of program directors indicated that both intermediate and advanced COD treatment programs were similar in their general approach to substance abuse treatment, but differed considerably in their treatment of mental disorders, where the advanced programs employed significantly more evidence- and consensus-based practices. Results provide support for the distinction between intermediate- and advanced-level services for offenders with COD and support a typology that defines advanced programs as integrating a range of evidence- and consensus-based practices so as to modify treatment sufficiently to address both diseases.     

Modified TC for MICA offenders: crime outcomes

The study randomly assigned male inmates with co-occurring serious mental illness and chemical abuse (MICA) disorders to either modified therapeutic community (MTC) or mental health (MH) treatment programs. On their release from prison, MICA inmates who completed the prison MTC program could enter the MTC aftercare program. The results, obtained from an intent-to-treat analysis of all study entries, showed that inmates randomized into the MTC group had significantly lower rates of reincarceration compared with those in the MH group. The results also show that differences between the MTC + aftercare and comparison group across a variety of crime outcomes (i.e. any criminal activity, and alcohol or drug related criminal activity) are consistent and significant, and persist after an examination of various threats to validity (e.g. initial motivation, duration of treatment, exposure to risk). This study provides some support for the effectiveness of the prison TC only condition. The findings are encouraging and consonant with other studies of integrated prison and aftercare TC programs for substance abusing non-MICA offenders, although qualified by the possibility that selection bias (i.e. differences in motivation on entry into aftercare) may be operating. Nevertheless, given the available evidence and the need for effective programming for MICA offenders, program and policy makers should strongly consider developing integrated prison and aftercare modified TC programs for MICA offenders.     

Directed forgetting following mood induction in chronic posttraumatic stress disorder patients

Current research of posttrauma sequelae suggests that intrusive rather than avoidant-dissociative models more accurately represent the encoding processes of trauma cues. However, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often conceptualized as a phasic phenomenon, altering between arousal and avoidance states. The failure to support a relationship between avoidant encoding style and PTSD may reflect this alteration. To explore this hypothesis, participants with PTSD and controls (no PTSD) completed an item-cued directed-forgetting task, following either a dissociative or a serenity (control) mood induction. Results suggested that, following the serenity induction, a standard directed-forgetting effect was observed. However, following the dissociation induction, this effect was not observed. The role of dissociation in impairing encoding via lack of selective rehearsal or source discrimination is discussed.