The main purpose of rehabilitation courses is to reduce recidivism with respect to drink-driving offences. Such a course is educational or psychologically oriented, and typically organised in small groups. Recent studies were analysed. The main outcome variable in all of these studies was recidivism for ‘driving under the influence of alcohol’ (DUI) in the 2 to 3 years following the course. Participants were compared to non-participants (e.g., DUI-offenders who were charged with a more traditional sentence such as a prison sentence). The results show that rehabilitation courses for DUI-offenders – if properly performed – can reduce recidivism and thus have a positive effect on road safety. Important characteristics of a course are a focus on behavioural change (i.e. concrete plan of what to do when a relapse is imminent) rather than simply providing information. Furthermore, it should be spread over at least several weeks. A meta-analysis of the six most recent studies with an acceptable methodology suggests that rehabilitation courses can reduce recidivism by 40%. The present meta-analysis is more positive than previous ones, as several older studies found no effect or an effect that disappeared very quickly. The difference could be due to an improvement in the courses evaluated in the more recent studies. A general weakness of almost all studies in this area lies in the comparison of programme participants to non-participating DUI-offenders, who did either not qualify for the programme or not volunteer for it. The control group usually has a-priori a higher risk on recidivism which would add to the effect of the course. Matching or statistical methods help to correct for this – but one can never be sure whether all differences have been taken into account. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting