Jamieson L. Duvall

The Roles of Praise and Social Comparison Information in the Experience of Pride

Abstract The authors examined the roles of social comparisons, publicity of success, and praise on the experience of pride in an experiment in which college students successfully completed a timed intelligence task in private and later received 1 of 4 types of feedback from the experimenter: no feedback (private), mere public acknowledgment of completion, general praise containing both a public and an evaluative component, or praise containing explicit comparison information. Half of the participants also received written normative information suggesting they performed at a high level. Participants then completed a number of dependent measures, including a key measure of pride. Overall, results suggest that the public aspect of a performance, together with the superior standing suggested by any praise accompanying this publicity, is important in the experience of pride.

Partner Relationships and HIV Risk Behaviors among Women Offenders

Abstract The HIV infection rate is increasing among women in general and for female inmates specifically (Maruschak 2004), which makes understanding the correlates of risky sexual behaviors critical for this population. Partner relationships, particularly the extent to which women perceive they have power within the relationship, may be important in modeling risk behaviors. Few studies have considered the association between relationship power and HIV risk behaviors among women offenders. This study examines womens perceptions of their relationships using the Sexual Relationship Power Scale (Pulerwitz, Gortmaker, & DeJong 2000) and NIDAs HIV Risk Behavior Assessment (NIDA 1995). Data were collected from female inmates in four prisons as part of the Reducing Risky Relationships for HIV protocol being conducted through the NIDAs Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS) cooperative agreement. Women reported whether they had engaged in five types of unprotected sex in the month prior to incarceration. Logistic regression models of the associations between relationship power and five types of unprotected sex revealed some support for the importance of power as a protective factor in reducing the odds of unprotected sexual behaviors. Implications and findings are presented to add to understanding of partner relationships and HIV risk behaviors.

A Prospective Examination of High-cost Health Services Utilization among Drug using Prisoners Reentering the Community

The use of health services by prisoners during their incarceration and after their return to the community impacts the U.S. health care system and health care costs associated with this system. These health care costs are expected to increase over the next decade as more prisoners return to their communities. The current study prospectively examines the use of high-cost health care services—emergency room visits and hospitalizations—among 565 male drug-abusing prisoners about 1 year after prison release. A series of structural equation models were used to examine predisposing factors, including health status and drug use, and to estimate the frequency of high-cost health service utilization. As expected, health status was the most robust predictor of high-cost health services. However, the finding that drug abuse had nonsignificant relationships with high-cost health services utilization was not expected. Discussion focuses on health care service issues and health problems as prisoners’ transition from prison to the community.

Employment and Work Among Drug Court Clients: 12-Month Outcomes

Employment contributes to drug abuse treatment success and is an important treatment outcome (). However, few tailored employment interventions are available. This project developed an employment intervention focused on obtaining, maintaining, and upgrading employment. The current study, approved by an IRB, uses 12-month outcomes to examine intervention dosage effects. Participants were 500 clients who entered two Kentucky drug court programs between March 2000 and November 2002. Measures included demographics, drug/alcohol use, criminality, employment, and education measures from the Addiction Severity Index () as well as specific employment measures. To examine the intervention, the number of intervention upgrading sessions attended was divided by the number of possible upgrading sessions. Session attendance percentages were then used to median split into a low upgrading group and a high upgrading group and were compared with the no intervention group. These three groups were used in a series of ANOVA and chi-square analyses to examine differences at 12-month follow-up. When employment, legal work, illegal work, and employment problems were examined for one year and 30 days at follow-up, there were significant effects for jobs in the past year, days worked at a legitimate job in both the past year as well as 30 days, and income from a legitimate job in the past year. Participants in the high upgrade group received maximum employment benefits. Since legal earnings increased and illegal earnings decreased, drug-user treatment programs and practitioners should assess and refer clients to employment interventions. Tailored employment interventions should be tested to keep drug users in treatment and to increase treatment outcome. The studys limitations are noted and future needed research is suggested. The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The Roles of Spirituality in the Relationship Between Traumatic Life Events, Mental Health, and Drug Use Among African American Women from One Southern State

This study examines the role of spirituality as a moderator of the relationship between traumatic life experiences, mental health, and drug use in a sample of African American women. It was hypothesized that there would be an inverse relationship overall between spirituality and mental health and drug use among this sample of African American women. Secondly, was expected that spirituality would moderate the relationship between traumatic life events and mental health and drug use. African American women (n = 206) were recruited from the community and from probation officers in three urban areas of a southern state, and face-to-face interviews were completed. Findings indicated that there was a main effect for spirituality (as measured by existential well-being on the Spiritual Well-Being Scale) and traumatic life events, mental health, and alcohol use. In addition, spirituality was a significant moderator of the relationship between traumatic life events and cocaine use. Discussion and implications for African American women are included.

Effect of an Organizational Linkage Intervention on Staff Perceptions of Medication-Assisted Treatment and Referral Intentions in Community Corrections☆

INTRODUCTION Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is effective for alcohol and opioid use disorders but it is stigmatized and underutilized in criminal justice settings. METHODS This study cluster-randomized 20 community corrections sites to determine whether an experimental implementation strategy of training and an organizational linkage intervention improved staff perceptions of MAT and referral intentions more than training alone. The 3-hour training was designed to address deficits in knowledge, perceptions and referral information, and the organizational linkage intervention brought together community corrections and addiction treatment agencies in an interagency strategic planning and implementation process over 12 months. RESULTS Although training alone was associated with increases in familiarity with pharmacotherapy and knowledge of where to refer clients, the experimental intervention produced significantly greater improvements in functional attitudes (e.g. that MAT is helpful to clients) and referral intentions. Corrections staff demonstrated greater improvements in functional perceptions and intent to refer opioid dependent clients for MAT than did treatment staff. CONCLUSION Knowledge, perceptions and information training plus interorganizational strategic planning intervention is an effective means to change attitudes and intent to refer clients for medication assisted treatment in community corrections settings, especially among corrections staff.

Factors Predicting Relationship Satisfaction, Investment, and Commitment When Women Report High Prevalence of Psychological Abuse

Relationship satisfaction, investment, and commitment in women experiencing extensive psychological abuse were examined to determine predictive factors. Participants were the top quartile of a national sample of women in conflictual relationships (N = 81) experiencing psychological maltreatment. Relationship satisfaction, investment, and commitment were each used as criterion variables with conceptually related factors as the predictors (e.g., reactions to the psychological abuse; mental health indicators; personality variables; perceived harm; problematic relationship schemas; response styles; demographics). These relationship markers were differentially predicted within this group of women. Three independent clusters of women, based on patterns of satisfaction, investment, and commitment scores, were compared regarding physical abuse, reactions to psychological abuse, ratings of perceived harm, endorsement of relationship schemas, psychological distress variables, and personality variables. The cluster of women reporting higher satisfaction, investment, and commitment in these seemingly aversive relationships frequently demonstrated differences from the other two clusters. Implications for clinical applications are discussed.

Efficacy of a Process Improvement Intervention on Delivery of HIV Services to Offenders: A Multisite Trial

OBJECTIVES We tested a modified Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment (NIATx) process improvement model to implement improved HIV services (prevention, testing, and linkage to treatment) for offenders under correctional supervision. METHODS As part of the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies, Phase 2, the HIV Services and Treatment Implementation in Corrections study conducted 14 cluster-randomized trials in 2011 to 2013 at 9 US sites, where one correctional facility received training in HIV services and coaching in a modified NIATx model and the other received only HIV training. The outcome measure was the odds of successful delivery of an HIV service. RESULTS The results were significant at the .05 level, and the point estimate for the odds ratio was 2.14. Although overall the results were heterogeneous, the experiments that focused on implementing HIV prevention interventions had a 95% confidence interval that exceeded the no-difference point. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that a modified NIATx process improvement model can effectively implement improved rates of delivery of some types of HIV services in correctional environments.

Measuring Employment Among Substance-Using Offenders

Employment has been identified as an important predictor of drug abuse treatment outcome; however, employment has been measured in a variety of different ways in the drug abuse literature and typically with community samples. The present IRB-approved study used factor analysis to identify commonalities among several employment measures collected from a sample of drug court offenders who entered one of two Kentucky drug courts between March 2000 and November 2002. Measures included demographics, employment, substance use, and criminality. The factor analysis produced four employment factors: status, earnings, duration, and stability. These factors had different correlation patterns with substance use and criminality. Study limitations are noted. This study was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Rural and Urban Differences in Kentucky DUI Offenders.

Objectives:Recent national data suggest that the prevalence of driving under the influence (DUI) is higher in rural areas than in more urbanized areas of the United States. However, little is known about rural DUI offenders, particularly those living in very remote areas. This study was conducted to examine the similarities and differences between rural and urban DUI offenders. Based on recent research, it was expected that few differences would be found between rural and urban DUI offenders. Methods:This study examined a total of 21,135 substance abuse assessment records for persons convicted of DUI in Kentucky and who concluded treatment in 2005. Assessment records included demographic characteristics, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores, Drug Abuse Screening Test scores, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition Text Revision substance use disorder checklist. Beale codes based on county of residence were used to create comparison groups. Results:Positive, and statistically significant, associations were found between rurality and Drug Abuse Screening Test scores, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition substance abuse and dependence disorders, and rates of education/treatment noncompliance. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores were negatively associated with rurality. Conclusions:The study suggests that the problem severity among DUI offenders may be greater in rural areas. Given the lack of treatment services in rural areas, practitioners may face greater challenges in assessing and providing appropriate treatment for this group of DUI offenders, which may put them at greater risk for continued impaired driving.