International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Inmate Perceptions of Substance Abuse Programs Comparing Inmate Perceptions of Two Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Programs

Abstract:Drug and alcohol abuse by criminal offenders remains at an all time high. Residen-tial substance abuse and treatment (RSAT) programs were developed to address the drug and alcohol treatment needs of inmates in prisons. Typically, such programs range in length from 6 to 12 months, have an Alcoholics Anonymous and/or Narcotics Anonymous component, and occur in a therapeutic community environment. Some programs also include a cognitive self-change component. Inmate participation in their programming is crucial to the success of a therapeutic community treatment environment, yet there is little research on the perceptions of RSAT inmates regarding their programming. In this research, the authors describe, compare, and contrast the perceptions of inmate clients of twoRSATprograms in a ruralmountain state. Drug and alcohol abuse by criminal offenders remains at an all time high.Accord-ing to Annual Survey of Jails data, in 1989, 67 % of jail inmates had used drugs regularly or committed drug offenses prior to incarceration comparedwith 70 % in 1998. It is not surprising that this drug use history mirrors that of prison inmates (Wilson, 2000). Residential substance abuse and treatment (RSAT) programs were developed to address the drug and alcohol treatment needs of inmates in jail