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Criminal Thinking and WaySafe. Aaron Cherry, M.S. INSTITUTE OF BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY.
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Criminal Thinking and WaySafe Aaron Cherry, M.S. INSTITUTE OF BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY Funding by a grant to Texas Christian University (R01DA025885, W.E.K. Lehman, Principal Investigator) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health (NIDA/NIH). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agency.
Treatment components such as Engagement are related both to positive treatment outcomes as well as WaySafe performance • Criminal Thinking has a negative relationship to important treatment components • The current study evaluated the relationship of Criminal Thinking with performance in the WaySafe intervention Introduction
Cognitions and attitudes related to the initiation and maintenance of criminal behavior Criminal Thinking Cognitive Distortions • Justification • Criminal Rationalization • Personal Irresponsibility • Entitlement • Power Orientation • Cold Heartedness Criminal Attitudes
Treatment Engagement refers to an individual’s active involvement in the treatment process measured by program participation and therapeutic alliances. Treatment Components influenced by Criminal Thinking • Engagement Scales • Treatment Participation • Treatment Satisfaction • Counselor Rapport • Peer Support
TreatmentEngagement Current Study (-) (+) Criminal Thinking WaysafePerformance (-) We hypothesized that Criminal Thinking would have a negative relationship with WaySafe Performance, but that these influences would be mediated by Treatment Engagement
STUDY MEASURES • WaySafe performance • HIV Knowledge Confidence • Avoiding Risky Sex • Avoiding Risky Drug Use • HIV Testing Awareness • Risk Reduction Skills • Criminal Thinking • Composite measure (alpha = .80) • Treatment Engagement • Composite measure (alpha = .88)
Criminal Thinking’s Relationship to Waysafe performance Treatment Engagement Path A -.339*** Path B .200*** Criminal Thinking HIV Knowledge Confidence Path C’ -.130** Path C -.173*** HIV Knowledge Confidence p < .05* p < .01** p < .001*** Note: Sobel test indicated significant mediation
Criminal Thinking’s Relationship to Waysafe performance Treatment Engagement Path A -.339*** Path B .209*** Criminal Thinking Avoiding Risky Sex Path C’ -.057 Path C -.127*** Avoiding Risky Sex p < .05* p < .01** p < .001*** Note: Sobel test indicated significant mediation
Criminal Thinking’s Relationship to Waysafe performance Treatment Engagement Path A -.339*** Path B .104** Criminal Thinking Avoiding Risky Drug Use Path C’ -.095* Path C -.130*** Avoiding Risky Drug Use p < .05* p < .01** p < .001*** Note: Sobel test indicated significant mediation
Criminal Thinking’s Relationship to Waysafe performance Treatment Engagement Path A -.339*** Path B .123*** Criminal Thinking HIV Testing Awareness Path C’ -.061 Path C -.093** HIV Testing Awareness p < .05* p < .01** p < .001*** Note: Sobel test indicated significant mediation
Criminal Thinking’s Relationship to Waysafe performance Treatment Engagement Path A -.339*** Path B .168*** Criminal Thinking Risk Reduction Skills Path C’ -.075* Path C -.125*** Risk Reduction Skills p < .05* p < .01** p < .001*** Note: Sobel test indicated significant mediation
Individuals higher in engagement performed better in the WaySafe intervention. • Criminal Thinking was negatively related to WaySafe performance. This relationship was mediated partially or fully by treatment engagement. • Reducing Criminal Thinking appears to be important for a variety of treatment processes including the WaySafe Intervention. • Although women tended to score lower in Criminal Thinking, there were no gender differences in the strength or direction of the relationship between Criminal Thinking and WaySafe performance. • Future research should evaluate which Criminal Thinking dimensions are most amenable to change in order to reduce its negative influence on interventions such as WaySafe. Conclusion