A Study of Factors Related to Use of Court-Ordered Treatment among Offenders with a Substance Use Disorder

The purpose of this study is to identify the determinants of using court-ordered treatment among offenders with a substance use disorder. For this purpose, the study conducted a secondary data analysis with some raw data of the survey with offenders with a substance use disorder carried out as part of the 2016 service task of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. A binary logistic regression analysis model was used to statistically test a total of 127 cases to examine past treatment experiences in the compulsory treatment system and impacts on the perceptions of the court-ordered treatment. The analysis results show that when offenders with a substance use disorder knew that they could voluntarily use the compulsory treatment system, they were likely to use the court-ordered treatment. Their educational level and occupation turned out to be significant variables in the possibility of their using the compulsory treatment system. Based on these analysis results, the study proposed to provide information about the use of the compulsory treatment system and reinforce a promotional project for offenders with a substance use disorder and developed discussions about plans to develop the court-ordered treatment for them.