NCJ Number
218326
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 43 Issue: 3 Dated: 2006 Pages: 49-72
Date Published
2006
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This study evaluated the effectiveness of a court-ordered Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) presentation intended to prevent alcohol or drug-related reoffending among 247 juvenile alcohol and drug offenders.
Abstract
The findings show that attending the MADD presentation was not significantly related to reoffending. During a 12-month follow-up period, 14.3 percent of presentation attendees (n=91), 19.4 percent of nonattendees (n=72), and 21.4 percent of the control group (n=84) engaged in alcohol or drug-related behaviors that put them in contact with the juvenile justice system. Being male and having prior juvenile justice system involvement significantly predicted future alcohol-related or drug-related juvenile-justice contact. The author advises that rather than discontinue the presentation, it might be a suitable complement to a more comprehensive intervention, perhaps as a tool for building empathy and knowledge about the harmful effects of alcohol and drugs. The MADD presentation incorporated educational components into a victim awareness program that targets young alcohol and drug offenders involved with the juvenile court. Monthly presentations are done at the court building and last approximately 2 hours. Offenders are required to attend with a parent or guardian. Each presentation begins with talks by one to two people who have been victimized by drunk driving. This is followed by a 45-minute educational video that features interviews with emergency-room physicians, nurses, and former substance abusers, who discuss the dangers of drugs and alcohol. Law enforcement officers then present a slideshow that portrays the suffering caused by drunk driving. The evaluation used a quasi-experimental design of presentation attendees whose reoffending was compared to a sample of juveniles who did not attend the presentation and members of a control group arrested before the presentation was initiated. 3 tables and 36 references