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Caeley Childers

Literature Review

Casey Flores

July 2020

With my research, I am searching for answers as to which approach is more successful in

terms of receiving rehabilitation services rather than simply being punished for those charges. I

have found that there are similar ideas within my resources that lean toward rehabilitation being

a more successful path that allows people to become functioning members of society once again.

Time and time again, statistics have supported the fact that rehabilitation programs have had a

positive impact on communities and reducing recidivism. “Inmates who were not administered

any opioid substitution treatment were 74% less likely to reoffend compared to those who were

given methadone or tramadol. Moreover, the likelihood of recidivism was 1.7 times greater for

each additional prior incarceration.” (Axiak 2016). This study, as well as studies prior to, have

shown that inmates who struggled with addiction can be successful after receiving treatment,

however, the results were different when the history of the inmate included more previous

charges, etc. A common link between most studies about rehabilitation or crime rates among

youth involve the social theory of labeling. The Labeling Theory claims that if a person is treated

like or told they are someone who will behave badly, make poor choices, not succeed, etc. This

can impact their perspective and mental orientation, causing them to behave the way they are

told they will, or “fitting” into the label that others have given them. Crawford studied an IFCBT

(Integrated Family and Cognitive Behavorial Therapy) that focused on rehabilitation for
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adolescents that struggled with addiction to drugs. "This study is an important first step in the

examination of the efficacy of adolescent drug treatments that coordinate family-based and

cognitive-behavioral approaches," said Latimer, a professor at Johns Hopkins University's

department of mental health. "The study findings suggest that the IFCBT model is a promising

approach for the treatment of adolescent drug abuse." (Crawford 2003).

On the contrary, an article from Brandon Weston explored the case of a juevinile who

struggle with addiction that plead guilty to vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and was

given community service and probation in hopes to pursue rehabilitation over punishment. This

case caused a public uproar. The public argued that rehabilitation over punishment shouldn’t be

primary goal in certain cases like this particular one, for example. “Overly simplistic procedures

often create an adulthood cliff, where a single objective bright line increases the risk that a

juvenile will end up in a court that is inappropriate given his or her actual culpability. On the

other hand, waiver procedures that do not include objective controls increase the risk of

inconsistent decisions where rehabilitation goals are promoted at the expense of society's

legitimate punishment objectives.” (Weston 2016). The decision of rehabilitation over

punishment or vice versa, is an argument that is had during every case like the one previously

mentioned.

A misconception about this research topic is that we may think we understand the mind

and state of a drug addict when we might not. From an entry from JourneyPure, a drug

rehabilitation advocate blog, the writer goes on to say that most people believe that those who

struggle with addiction just need to be stronger so that they can quit their bad habits. I think this

may be true for some, but most people just need the right resources offered to them. Another

misconception is that drug addicts, especially those with previous offenses, do not need or
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deserve jail time. From the same writer from JourneyPure, the author goes on, “Placing non-

violent and violent offenders in the same facility means that the heroin addicts will learn how to

become better criminals from their fellow inmates. An addict may not be a violent person before

spending time in prison, but the incarcerated environment is not conducive to teaching anyone

how to be soft and non-aggressive. Putting addicts in prison for what can be several years does

not teach them how to behave well in society when they are released.” (JourneyPure 2019).

There could be truth to this, however, we cannot just let people walk for breaking the law if we

are reasonable at all. This brings us back to the same question of, what is more beneficial to

individuals as well as society, rehabilitation and mercy or punishment and doing time for crimes?
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Works Cited

Axiak, Claire. “The Effect of Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation Programs on Recidivism in

Malta.” Malta Medical Journal, vol. 28, no. 1, Mar. 2016, pp. 41–47. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=114472639&site=eds-live.

Crawford, N. S. (2003, October). Adolescent drug abuse treatment works better with family.

Monitor on Psychology, 34(9). http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct03/adolescent

http://www.justicepolicy.org/uploads/justicepolicy/documents/04-

01_rep_mdtreatmentorincarceration_ac-dp.pdf

Gilligan, J. (2012). Prison Could Be Productive. Retrieved June 27, 2020, from

https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/12/18/prison-could-be-

productive/punishment-fails-rehabilitation-works

Harbeck, Karen M. “Juvenile Crime in the U.S.” Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2019. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=89185558&site=eds-live.
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Smith, M. (2019, August 09). The Recovery Diaries: Treatment for Substance Abuse Now

Favored Over Punishment. Retrieved June 28, 2020, from https://jjie.org/2015/05/04/the-

recovery-diaries-treatment-for-substance-abuse-now-favored-over-punishment/

Sung, Hung-En. “Differential Impact of Deterrence vs. Rehabilitation as Drug Interventions on

Recidivism after 36 Months.” Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, vol. 37, no. 3–4, Jan.

2003, pp. 95–108. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ841912&site=eds-live.

Weston, Brandon. "Balancing rehabilitation and punishment: combining juvenile court waiver

mechanisms to create a balanced justice system." American Criminal Law Review, vol. 53,

no. 1, Winter 2016, p. 235+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/A443887859/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=a01

eae9b. Accessed 6 July 2020.

“Why Drug Rehab Is Better for Heroin Addicts than Jail.” JourneyPure Emerald Coast, 18 Dec.

2019, emeraldcoastjourneypure.com/heroin-rehab-vs-jail/.