Variables related to recidivism among offenders in a drug court program

The effect of a graduated sanction drug court program on drug-abusing offenders was investigated. Drug courts use a combination of negative reinforcements and punishments as a means of increasing the target behavior of abstinence. A negative reinforcement is the removal of a sanction when the target behavior occurs, which in turn increases that behavior. A punishment is a sanction for a behavior that reduces the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated in the future. Drug courts begin with a negative reinforcement, removing the sanction of jail or prison time. Then the drug courts move on to using punishments through progressively harsher sanctions for infractions. Thus, participants in a drug court program should have lower recidivism rates than other drug-abusing offenders.;Recidivism literature on drug offenders has shown a number of offender characteristics that have an association with reoffending. Variables shown in prior research to have a predictive effect on recidivism include gender, ethnicity, age, marital status, and the number of prior arrests. Social adjustment variables, such as stability of living arrangements, employment, and education level have also been suggested to have prediction value. Variables indicating drug severity have also been found useful; these include drug of choice, length of use, and frequency of use. These variables are explored through the development of a predictive model.