The Effect of Family Therapy on Prison-based Substance Abuse Treatment and Recidivism Outcomes for Incarcerated Women

Abstract

This study examined the effect of family therapy and prison-based substanceabuse treatment on recidivism outcomes for women in custody at a Philadelphia adultcorrectional facility. The quasi-experimental design of the study used quantitativeanalysis of archival data to isolate the independent effect of family therapy treatment onretention in prison-based substance abuse treatment and recidivism. Survival regressionanalyses were used to predict time until rearrest. For comparison, a sample of 100 femaleinmates were divided into two study groups comprising those who received substanceabuse treatment only, and those who received substance abuse treatment and familytherapy. Background information including sociodemographic (race/ethnicity, age, andeducation), criminal history, substance abuse, mental health, and trauma histories wasabstracted from the Philadelphia Prison’s Integrated Jail Management System and theForensic Family Therapy Treatment Program’s client records. Prison-based treatmentinformation and post-release recidivism was coded from prison-maintained computerizedcustody and criminal history reports. While there was no significant differences betweengroups in binary comparisons on risk factors associated recidivism, or the positiveinfluence of family therapy on treatment retention in the prison-based therapeuticcommunity, results did indicate a delay in time until recidivism for women who receivedtreatment during incarceration. Survival findings showed that of the N = 100 women inthe sample who received long-term prison-based behavioral health treatment (substanceabuse treatment and/or family therapy) only 30% recidivated post release from prison,which falls well below national recidivism averages at 66% for parolees. These findingssuggest several relevant implications for policy and clinical practice that potentially couldlead to system-wide cost benefits for the state.%%%%Ph.D., Couple and Family Therapy – Drexel University, 2009