Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF), Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Department of Research and Development in Mental Health Service, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway.
BMC Psychiatry. 2021 Nov 12;21(1):563. doi: 10.1186/s12888-021-03518-2.
Reductions in crime are often reported following substance use treatment. We explore the relationship between desistance from crime, treatment type, treatment retention and positive changes in known risk factors for crime.
We used data from the NorComt-study; a longitudinal study of substance users (n = 341) enrolled in comprehensive treatment in Norway (2012-2015). At treatment initiation (T0) and 1 year later (T1), we collected self-reported data on criminal involvement, treatment, substance use, social network and self-control. We calculated adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) with multinomial logistic regression analysis.
Overall, 1 year following treatment initiation 69% reported desistance from crime, 18% reported continued crime and 12% reported no crime at all in the study period. Desistance was high for OMT patients in ongoing treatment (79% desisted) and for inpatients regardless of treatment status (79-93% desisted), while not as high among OMT patients with interrupted treatment (47% desisted). For participants that continued crime during follow-up, the average number of criminal acts per month was reduced (p < 0.001). Desistance at follow-up was associated with being older (aOR: 1.05, CI: 1.00-1.10), inpatient treatment (aOR: 3.71, CI: 1.12-12.29), being in ongoing treatment (inpatient or OMT) (aOR: 2.90, CI: 1.01-8.36), having no stimulant use in the study period (aOR: 4.86, CI: 1.72-13.70), leaving a substance using social network (aOR 2.87, CI: 1.15-7.18) and improvement in self-control score (aOR: 1.08, CI: 1.04-1.13).
Retention in treatment is particularly important for crime outcomes among OMT patients. Positive changes in social network and self-control are potential contributors to desistance from crime. Targeted interventions towards crime reduction are recommended for patients with stimulant use, which appears to be a persistent risk factor for crime over time.
在接受药物使用治疗后，犯罪率通常会下降。我们探讨了犯罪中止、治疗类型、治疗保留率以及已知犯罪风险因素的积极变化之间的关系。
我们使用了来自挪威综合治疗中药物使用者（n=341）的 NorComt 研究的纵向数据（2012-2015 年）。在治疗开始时（T0）和 1 年后（T1），我们收集了犯罪参与、治疗、药物使用、社交网络和自我控制的自我报告数据。我们使用多项逻辑回归分析计算了调整后的优势比（aOR）和 95%置信区间（CI）。
总体而言，治疗开始后 1 年，69%的人报告犯罪中止，18%的人报告持续犯罪，12%的人报告在研究期间没有犯罪。正在接受 OMT 治疗的患者（79%中止犯罪）和无论治疗状况如何的住院患者（79%-93%中止犯罪）中止犯罪的比例较高，而中断治疗的 OMT 患者中止犯罪的比例则较低（47%）。对于在随访期间继续犯罪的参与者，每月犯罪行为的平均数量减少（p<0.001）。随访时的中止犯罪与年龄较大（aOR：1.05，CI：1.00-1.10）、住院治疗（aOR：3.71，CI：1.12-12.29）、持续治疗（住院或 OMT）（aOR：2.90，CI：1.01-8.36）、研究期间无兴奋剂使用（aOR：4.86，CI：1.72-13.70）、离开使用兴奋剂的社交网络（aOR：2.87，CI：1.15-7.18）和自我控制评分的改善（aOR：1.08，CI：1.04-1.13）相关。
保留治疗对于 OMT 患者的犯罪结果尤为重要。社交网络和自我控制的积极变化可能是犯罪中止的原因。建议对使用兴奋剂的患者进行有针对性的减少犯罪干预，因为兴奋剂似乎是随着时间的推移持续存在的犯罪风险因素。
