Do you have to hit “rock bottom” to recover? An analysis of motivation to recover through the lens of the Vigo County Drug Court experience

About this research project Origins of this research project – Brainchild of Professor Butwin, Indiana State University Political Science – Funded by the ISU Center for Student Research and Creativity Undergraduate Researchers: Website for more information about this project and a copy of this paper

Hypothesis If external characteristics exist to identify those who are “ready for recovery” drug courts should utilize those characteristic in selecting drug court participants to make programs more effective and efficient.

Who is most ready to recover from addiction? Stages of Change Model of willingness to recover - Prochaska and DiClemente (1992) – Precontemplation, contemplation, action, maintenance – This study will focus on the first two stages Precontemplation phase = less likely to benefit from drug court program (action) Contemplation phase = more likely to be successful in a drug court program and beyond (maintenance)

What are the characteristics of those in the “contemplation” phase of change? A number of theories exist – X – x “Rock Bottom” theories of readiness for change – X – x

How are participants for drug court participation currently selected? National statistics / best practices model

How are participants for drug court participation currently selected? Vigo County Drug Court – VCDC Policy and Procedures Manual Section 1.4 Eligibility Criteria according to VCDC manual Target population according to VCDC manual Referral from lawyers is not specifically placed in the manual, however, this is a common practice in order to divert prosecution for crimes committed Cite Evan’s article

Methodology January 1, 2008 thru December 31, 2010 Active, Successful & Terminated Participants Successful: Completing all requirements & no recidivism post completion of program Graduated: Completing all requirements &recidivism post completion of program Data Gathered: – Socio-economic – Self-Reported – Drug History – Criminal History

General Characteristics Income: – $0-$4,999: 50.2% Martial Status: – Single: 55.5% Drug of Choice: – Alcohol: 69.5% – Methamephatime: 13.7% – Marijuana: 8.4% – Prescription Drugs: 6.1% – Cocaine: 2.3% Average Number of Days in VCDC Program: days Gender: – 188 Males, 70 Females Age: years Ethnicity: – Caucasian: 89.5& – African American: 8.9% – Hispanic: 1.2% – Other: 0.40%

Factors that Contribute to “Hitting Rock Bottom” Prior attempt at treatment Employment status Criminal history/Number of charges Age of onset for drug or alcohol abuse

Findings: Prior Attempt at Treatment

Findings: Employment

Findings: Criminal History Graduated: Mean number of charges: charges 52.1% reported having 10 charges or less Successful: Mean number of charges: charges 53.1% reported having 5 charges or less

Findings: Age of Onset Successful: Mean age: years old Range: years of age 54.2% reported being under the age of 17 Graduated: Mean age: years of age Range: 1-22 years of age 54.1% reported being under 16

All factors combined: More successful or more likely to fail?