NCJ Number
81637
Journal
Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 12 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1982) Pages: complete issue
Editor(s)
D A Ward
Date Published
1982
Length
123 pages
Annotation
Eight papers examine the use of legal and nonlegal coercion in the prevention and treatment of drug and alcohol abuse within the context of a wide range of social institutions and relationships including legal, work, and clinical settings.
Abstract
Three papers focus on alcohol abuse. One essay uses a multivariate covariance model to compare the effectiveness of treatment for problem drinkers coerced into treatment by the courts and problem drinkers voluntarily initiating treatment. It finds that an element of coercion made a successful treatment outcome more likely than a strictly voluntary referral. Another article examines the development of constructive confrontation with problem-drinking employees and its relationship to social controls that manage drinking behavior in the United States and in other cultures. The third paper outlines the standard components of a contingency contract, reviews studies investigating contingency contracting with alcohol abusers, and discusses clinical and ethical considerations in contracting. Two papers discuss marijuana use. One compares jurisdictions with widely differing penalties for marijuana use to determine the penalties' deterrent effects. The results indicate that enforcement patterns are more important than the severity of the penalty. The second study uses self-reporting to examine the impact of appearance in juvenile court on perceptions of self, associations with peers who use marijuana, beliefs that the law is morally binding, and fear of legal sanctions and subsequent marijuana use. Another paper analyzes the dispositions of juvenile offenders at three levels in the justice system by comparing alcohol and drug offenders with other offender types. No significant differences are found in the severity of disposition that alcohol and drug offenders received. In addition, a literature review discusses the moral and empirical issues related to mandatory treatment of alcoholism. The review reveals no empirical evidence to show that legal coercion is more effective than voluntarism for the court-referred patient. The final paper places the concept of coercion in the prevention and treatment of drug abuse within a political context and concludes that, whatever the rationale, the use of coercion by the State reduces individual liberty. Footnotes and references are supplied for each paper. Tables and diagrams are also included.