0 - National Criminal Justice Reference Service

The social conformity scale has displayed adequate alpha reliability coefficients, typically around
.65 or higher (Simpson and Joe, 1993a).
Treatment Readiness. The REST also includes the treatment readiness scale taken fiom
the TCU Treatment Motivation Assessment (Joe, Knezek, Watson, & Simpson, 1991; Simpson
and Joe, 1993b). The treatment readiness scale asks questions regarding an inmate’s perceptions
that treatment could help, or whether treatment would be too demanding for them to complete.
Hiller et al. (in press) reported an alpha coefficient of .72 for the treatment readiness scale.
Overall, the motivation of the offender to seek treatment can be a critical factor,
Resistance to treatment, and the use of defense mechanisms, provides key obstacles to realizing
the full potential of drug treatment (Miller, 1985). Simpson (1997) states that the first stage of
a
treatment readiness involves recognition and acknowledgement by individuals that they are having
problems caused by their drug use, particularly in terms of their legal, health, and psychosocial
bctioning. The second stage of treatment readiness reflects an expressed need for obtaining
help, and the third addresses specific commitments to drug treatment services.
External Pressures. External pressures refer to the legal and social pressures felt by the
inmate to take part in drug treatment. Items ask about an inmate’s perceptions that a recurrence
of drug use could cause imprisonment, legal stipulations that might require the inmate to be in
treatment, whether urine monitoring forces the individual to get clean or remain in prison for a full
prison term, and the desire for early release (i.e., parole). Other pressures to seek, receive or
remain in treatment may include pressure fiom family members or other intimates. This measure is
similar to a scale created by Anglin and colleagues (Anglin et al., 1989; Anglin & Hser, 1990;
Brecht, Anglin, and Wang, 1993) and later replicated by Hiller et al. (1998).
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This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not
been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s)
and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.