Screening for Alcohol Use in Criminal Justice Settings: An Exploratory Study

Coulton, Simon and Newbury-Birch, Dorothy and Cassidy, Paul and Dale, Veronica and Deluca, Paolo and Gulvarry, Eilish and Godfrey, Christine and Heather, Nick and Kaner, Eileen and Oyefeso, Adenekan and Parrott, Steve and Philips, Tom and Shepherd, Jonathan and Drummond, Colin (2012) Screening for Alcohol Use in Criminal Justice Settings: An Exploratory Study. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 47 (4). pp. 423-427. ISSN 0735-0414. (doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/ags048) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided)

Abstract

Aims: To examine the feasibility and acceptability of alcohol screening and delivery of brief interventions within criminal justice settings. Methods: A quantitative survey of those aged 18 or over in English criminal justice settings (three custody suites within police stations, three prisons and three probation offices). Measurements: The Fast Alcohol Screening Test (FAST) and a modified version of the Single Alcohol Screening Question (M-SASQ) were compared with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) as the ‘gold standard’. Participants completed a health status questionnaire (EQ5D), questions on service utilization and the Readiness to Change Questionnaire. Questions relating to the acceptability and feasibility of delivering brief interventions and about perception of coercion were included. Findings: Five hundred and ninety-two individuals were approached and 251 were eligible. Of these, 205 (82%) consented to take part in the study. The mean AUDIT score was 19.9 (SD 13.5) and 73% scored 8 or more on AUDIT. A higher percentage of those approached in the probation setting consented to take part (81%: prison 36%, police setting 10%). Those scoring AUDIT positive were more likely to be involved in violent offences (36.5 vs 9.4%; P < 0.001) and less likely to be involved in offences involving property (27.7 vs 45.3%; P = 0.03). Three quarters of the sample (74%) reported that they would not feel coerced to engage in an intervention about their alcohol use. FAST and M-SASQ had acceptable screening properties when compared with AUDIT with area under the curves of 0.97 and 0.92, respectively. Conclusions: The results confirm that there is a major problem with alcohol use in the criminal justice system and this impacts on health and criminal behaviour. Of the three criminal justice settings, probation was found to be the most suitable for screening. Participants were positive about receiving interventions for their alcohol use in probation settings.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare > HV5001 Alcohol use and miuse K Law > K Law (General)
Divisions:	Faculties > Social Sciences > School of Social Policy Sociology and Social Research > Centre for Health Services Studies
Depositing User:	Tony Rees
Date Deposited:	29 Jun 2012 09:15 UTC
Last Modified:	26 Nov 2015 12:48 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/29758 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)