Effects of Personalized Feedback Interventions on Drug-Related Reoffending: a Pilot Study

Addiction is serious problem that requires effective treatment. Previous studies support personalized feedback interventions (PFIs) as an effective treatment for drinking; however, the potential beneficial effects of this treatment on illegal drug use have not been explored. The present study examined the effects of PFIs in a sample of repetitive drug-related offenders. Participants were 50 repetitive drug-related offenders incarcerated in a Japanese prison. They were randomly assigned to the PFIs (n = 20) or control (n = 30) group. The PFIs group received six letters for 3 months, whereas the control group did not undergo any interventions. We defined relapse and recidivism as drug-related reoffending and reentering prison after release, respectively. In the 3.6-year follow-up analysis (range, 0.1-5.8 years), participants' criminal records were examined, and results indicated a decreased risk of relapse and recidivism for the PFIs group relative to the control group, even when controlling for age, educational level, number of prison terms, and sentence length. Thus, our findings suggest that PFIs reduce the likelihood of relapse and recidivism in drug-related offenders.