Arrestees' Perceived Needs for Substance-Specific Treatment: Exploring Urban–Rural Differences

Abstract

An interview study among a group of arrestees in seven county jails was conducted in the state of Ohio between June 1999 and September 2001, examining the prevalence of alcohol and drug dependence within the group and assessing the need for substance-abuse treatment. Four of the county jails where interviews were conducted are in urban areas, and three are in rural areas. The present study focused on demographic variables, situation-related factors, current drug dependence diagnoses, past treatment experience, and jail location-rural or urban. It sought to assess whether these factors predicted arrestees' perceived needs for substance-specific treatment (for alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and/or opiate addiction); and, further, whether any predictors of a perceived need for treatment would be identical for arrestees housed in rural jails and those housed in urban jails. The results show that some of the factors assessed do exert differential effects on rural and urban arrestees' perceived needs for substance-specific treatment. Future treatment policy within the criminal justice system should perhaps take into account inmates' individual characteristics and the rural or urban location of the jail initiating their processing. It may be possible, by paying attention to these variables, to enhance inmates' motivation to enter treatment programs, leading ultimately to drug-use cessation.

Sociodemographic factors, drug abuse, and other crimes: How they vary among male and female arrestees

“…must also be asked whether the locales in which arrestees reside (i.e., urban versus rural) may factor into any gender differences. Working with the same data set employed in the present study, Lo and Stephens (2002) found no significant relationships between residential location and current dependence on specific drugs among arrestees. Their study, however, did show that locale could moderate the impact of some background variables on arrestees' perceived needs for substance-specific treatment.…”

“…The design of the present study, along with most measures used in it, were described in detail elsewhere (Lo & Stephens, 2002). Its target population was persons arrested in the state of Ohio between June 1, 1999 andSeptember 30, 2001.…”

Offense Specialization of Arrestees

“…The Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring interview schedule and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule were used to construct the questionnaire used in the present study. Readers may see Lo and Stephens (2002) for details of the research project's design and sample.…”

The emergence of a specialist role in rural alcohol and drug service delivery: Lessons from a review in rural Victoria, Australia

“…This was the case for older arrestees, from rural counties in the USA (from 81,000 to 110,000). They reportedly lacked motivation for opiate specific treatment because of their identity as drug users and unwillingness to challenge this understanding of self by presenting at a treatment service (Lo & Stephens, 2002). Warner and Leukefeld (2001) noted that some rural residents do not want treatment as their AOD use is not regarded as a problem.…”