Changes in motivation for sobriety during treatment in a correctional setting

Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA) is a major issue in society today. Substance abuse has also been seen as a significant factor in criminal behavior, and in fact 26% of those incarcerated were believed to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs when they committed their crime (U.S. Department of Justice, 2006). Therefore, the treatment of substance abuse/dependence has become an important issue in corrections, which has led to the introduction of treatment programs into prisons. Just as with community treatment programs, motivation is seen as an important factor in regard to the impact of treatment programs provided for inmates. The focus of this study was to examine the strength and type of motivation for treatment amongst incarcerated alcohol abusers, and how the strength and type of motivation changed over the course of treatment. This study sought to measure the motivation to change amongst the prisoners at the Drug Abuse Correctional Center (DACC) who were participating in a treatment program for alcohol abuse. The program at the DACC involved a 6-month intensive inpatient program that utilized a Cognitive-Behavioral approach. The research was designed to assess whether motivation would change as participants progressed through three stages of the 24-week program: Stage one (weeks 1-8), Stage two (weeks 9-16) or Stage three (weeks 17-24). This was assessed through the use of a questionnaire designed to measure how strongly an individual rated several different motivational factors. This questionnaire was administered to groups of inmates at the three different stages of the treatment program. To ensure anonymity, inmates were administered the questionnaires without the presence of the DACC staff. The results of the study indicated that, while motivation was rated high, it stayed consistent through treatment for each Motive and overall. With the exception of pride , there was no change in the ranking of Motives over the course of treatment; however certain Motives were ranked consistently higher than others. This was interpreted to mean that participants were highly motivated throughout the entirety of treatment, and that particular Motives were the primary reason for this motivation