A systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of European drug treatment programmes on reoffending.

Other

April 2021

Full Citation

Koehler, J. A., Humphreys, D. K., Akoensi, T. D., Sánchez de Ribera, O., & Lösel, F. (2014). A systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of European drug treatment programmes on reoffending. Psychology, Crime & Law, 20(6), 584-602. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2013.804921

Abstract

This article presents the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of treatment programmes for drug abusing offenders in Europe, using stringent eligibility criteria to control for threats to internal validity. A literature search of approximately 37,000 titles revealed 15 sound evaluations from six countries, containing 3953 participants. There were significant positive overall effects of treatment on crime (d=0.47) and illicit drug use (d=0.38). Most evaluations originated from the UK and evaluated primarily substitution therapy-based treatment. Evaluations of other interventions were a minority. Our findings support the use of treatment programmes among substance-abusing offenders. However, these results are limited to a small set of programmes from very few countries. Therefore, sound evaluations on a range of treatments across Europe are needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)