Date

3-21-2023

Department

Helms School of Government

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Criminal Justice (PhD)

Chair

Vincent Giordano

Keywords

drug treatment court, opioid addicted participants, successful completion, unsuccessful completion, treatment services, education level attained, medication-assisted treatment

Disciplines

Legal Studies

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative, retrospective, causal comparative study was to determine if differences existed between opioid-addicted participants who successfully completed or failed to complete the Cumberland County Adult Treatment Court. The current study was formulated on the theoretical framework of therapeutic jurisprudence and structural ritualization. The research questions were developed to determine whether there were differences in the demographics (age, gender, and education level) and treatment services utilized between participants who successfully completed and failed to complete the program. The study sample comprised 105 opioid addicted participants including 55 who successfully completed and 50 who unsuccessfully completed the program from 2006 to 2021. Secondary archival data were collected from the Cumberland County Adult Treatment Court. This research utilized the Chi square test of independence tests to identify differences between opioid-addicted participants who successfully completed or failed to complete the program. Results indicated no significant differences existed in program completion as a function of demographics. The Chi-square showed four of the treatment methods including inpatient (x2 = 9.336, p = .025), halfway house (x2 = 4.646, p = .031), outpatient (x2 = 31.769, p < .001), and CBT (x2 = 26.312, p < .001) showed significant differences in program completion when participants experienced the modality. The treatment modality analysis showed that seven of the 11 remaining treatment methods offered showed no significant differences in program completion when participants experienced the different modalities.

Included in

Legal Studies Commons

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