Two studies were performed with the common aim to evaluate an educational program for imprisoned drunk drivers in Sweden, called "Rattfällan" ("The Trap"). Participation in the program is voluntary. In the first study, criminal records for participants were compared with those of matched control subjects. It was found that for the largest group of participants, those with no previous prison or probation sentencies, the drunk driving reconviction rate was 6% compared to 9% for the control subjects within two years after the end of imprisonment. The second study was a questionnaire study. It was found that the participants improved their knowledge about alcohol and alcohol/traffic and also changed their attitudes. Most participants reported a positive view on the program. At a follow-up six months after the end of imprisonment it was found that male participants with drunk driving as their principal offence showed a greater change regarding attitudes than a matched control sample. Alcohol habits had changed in similar ways for both groups. The results regarding differences between participants and control subjects should be interpreted with caution because of a large percentage of non-respondents in both groups, largest among the participants. Because of the limitations of the design it cannot be ruled out that factors other than program participation, notably the factor of motivation, might have, contributed to obtained differences between comparison groups in the two studies. (A)
Abstract