Gender-Responsive Treatment for Women Offenders

描述(由申请人提供)： 这项为期五年的实验研究将由加州大学洛杉矶分校的综合药物滥用计划进行，旨在确定专门为女性罪犯设计的药物治疗计划是否比目前为她们提供的标准治疗计划提供了更好的结果。具体地说，这项研究将确定以女性为重点的(WF)门诊计划与标准的混合性别(MG)门诊计划相比，在通过毒品法庭推迟监禁的女性罪犯中促进节欲和其他积极行为(例如，减少犯罪活动和改善育儿技能)的有效性。这项拟议的研究涉及加州洛杉矶县的八个毒品法庭地点裁决毒品法庭被告，以及为转介罪犯提供治疗的签约社区药物滥用治疗机构的合作。这项研究的概念框架以及措施和假设的选择是由关系理论提供的，该理论假设药物滥用和其他反社会行为可以追溯到妇女过去关系中的脱节和侵犯，解决这些问题需要对性别敏感的治疗方法。 总共300名自愿参加这项研究的女性毒品法庭参与者将被随机分配到八个指定治疗地点之一的WF或MG门诊治疗计划中。在治疗期间，参与者将在四个点上接受评估：基线(即治疗开始后7天内)、4个月、8个月和12个月。参与者还将在基线后24个月或预期治疗完成后约12个月接受评估。项目管理员将提供有关项目特征的数据。一系列的焦点小组将引发女性对WF或MG治疗的看法。 该项目的具体目标是：(1)与MG方案的影响相比，评估WF方案对女性罪犯的药物使用、犯罪活动和社会功能(例如，就业、教育、育儿行为)的影响；(2)测试与WF方案协议一致的关系理论元素对药物依赖型女性罪犯的关系技能和心理功能的积极影响能力；以及(3)定性评估女性对其在WF和MG治疗方案中的治疗经验的看法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This five-year experimental study, to be conducted by the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, is designed to determine whether drug treatment programs designed specifically for women offenders provide better outcomes than the standard treatment programs now provided for them. Specifically, the study will determine the effectiveness of women-focused (WF) outpatient programs compared to standard mixed-gender (MG) outpatient programs to promote abstinence and other positive behaviors (e.g., reduced criminal activity and improved parenting skills) among women offenders deferred form incarceration through drug court. The proposed study involves the cooperation of eight drug court sites adjudication drug court defendants within Los Angeles Country, California, and the contracted community-based drug abuse treatment agencies providing treatment to the referred offenders. A conceptual framework of the study and the selection of measures and hypotheses is informed by relational theory, which posits that drug abuse and other antisocial behaviors can be traced to disconnections and violations within women's past relationships and that addressing these problems requires gender-responsive treatment approaches. A total of 300 women drug court participants who volunteer for the study will be randomly assigned to a WF or a MG outpatient treatment program at one of eight designated treatment sites. Participants will be assessed at four points during treatment: baseline (i.e., within 7 days of treatment entry), 4, 8, and 12-months. Participants will also be assessed at 24 months following baseline, or approximately 12 months following expected completion of treatment. Program administrators will provide data on the characteristics of the programs. A series of focus groups will elicit the views of women on WF or MG treatment. The specific aims of the project are: (1) To evaluate the impact of WF programs on drug use, criminal activity, and social functioning (e.g., employment, education, parenting behavior) for women offenders, compared to the impact of MG programs; (2) To test elements of relational theory that are consistent with the WF program protocols in their ability to positively impact drug-dependent women offenders' relationship skills and psychological functioning; and (3) To qualitatively assess women's perceptions of their treatment experiences in the WF and MG treatment programs.