NCJ Number
155656
Date Published
Unknown
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Recent literature in the field of intervention vis-a-vis drinking while intoxicated (DWI) stresses motivational approaches, using cognitive-behavioral methods to improve the self-esteem of the offender.
Abstract
The most successful interventions appear to encompass the components of education, counseling, coping skills, and prosocial behavior. Some diagnostic approaches include use of the psychiatric symptoms checklists, Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test, Mortimer- Fiklins Test, and DSM-III-R, designed to match the offender with the level of treatment. Interventions which were found to be at least moderately successful involved weekend intervention programs, contingency management skills, chemical aversion therapy, mandatory short-term residential treatment, and treatment at a DWI facility with aftercare. Many programs are viewed as too didactic, failing to focus on the needs of the individual. The current system seems to allow DWI offenders to choose the least intrusive program, rather than the one that will optimally meet their needs. 55 references