The treatment of drunken drivers in Finland.

Author(s)
Heinonen, J.
Year
Abstract

This paper presents some results of a study by the A-Clinic Foundation in Finland, aimed at improving the treatment of DWI offenders (people convicted of any drinking and driving offence) at A-Clinics (voluntary outpatient clinics for alcohol abusers). The project attempted to: (1) improve working methods with DWIs at A-Clinics; (2) estimate how many DWIs seek help for their alcohol problems; (3) motivate DWIs to seek help directly in the arrest situation. It was found that 35% of the clients at A-Clinics had at some time been arrested for drunken driving. DWIs at A-Clinics are less chronic alcoholic abusers than typical alcoholics, so that the results of their treatment may be better than average. However, the DWIs at A-Clinics are the most chronic part of the DWI population, and their rate of recidivism was about 50%. Unexpectedly, almost half of the DWIs had sought help voluntarily before their arrest, and the most chronic DWIs seemed to seek help most often. Drunken driving was often found to be a symptom of wider problems, and the study's findings suggest that many DWIs have adopted a multidimensional `high risk' lifestyle, where drunken driving is not their main problem.

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Publication

Library number
C 10362 (In: C 10334 [electronic version only]) /83 / IRRD 866605
Source

In: Alcohol, drugs and traffic safety : proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety T92, held under the auspices of the International Committee on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety ICADTS, Cologne, Germany, 28 September - 2 October 1992, Band 1, p. 341-344, 3 ref.

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