A meta-analytic examination of drug treatment courts : Tribunaux de traitement de toxicomanie : méta-analyse : ont-ils un effect positif sur les taux de récidive?

Several variables identified in the analysis, however, had an impact on the results, including the age of the participants, the length of the program, the follow-up period used to measure recidivism, and other methodological variables (i.e., the use of random assignment and the choice of the comparison group). [...] While there are other issues that were not the subject of this research, such as the cost-effectiveness of DTCs, the results of this meta-analysis provides clear support for the use of drug treatment courts as a method of reducing crime among offenders with substance abuse problems. [...] Despite the popularity and intuitive appeal of DTCs, it is crucial to fully evaluate the effectiveness of such an approach, particularly as the cost of using the courts as a social control mechanism is relatively high. [...] Meta-analytic statistics can describe the typical strength of the effect under investigation (i.e., change in recidivism as a result of DTC participation), the degree of statistical significance, and the variability, and can provide an opportunity to explore and identify potential moderating variables. [...] It is surmised that, since the probability of publishing a study is increased by the statistical significance of the results, published studies are not actually representative of the entire body of research that has been conducted in a given area.