Does Motivational Interviewing Decrease Substance Abuse for Justice-Involved Adults? a Narrative Review

Background: Motivational Interviewing (MI) is widely used in substance abuse treatment, possibly due to the short sessions and the cost-effectiveness of the treatment. Previous research has established the efficacy of MI among a broad range of populations and outcomes, however, there is a lack of a review of the knowledge about if MI works with justice involved individuals who have substance use issues. Purpose: The purpose of this review was to summarize outcome studies examining MI as a treatment to decrease rates of substance use for justice-involved individuals. Methods: The databases that were utilized for the review include Academic Search Complete (EBSCO), PsycINFO, and ProQuest. The dates for the literature inclusion was from 2008 to March 2020. The literature search was initiated in February and was completed in March 2020. The researchers attempted to stay true to MI in its primary forms and only included specific forms of MI interventions that are a part of another intervention. Thus, the interventions included in this review are any length of traditional MI, brief MI, and MI delivered through case management (MCM). Justice-involved is defined as individuals who qualify for interventions based on being charged with an offense. These individuals include anyone who is currently incarcerated, on probation or parole, or has been released but is eligible for the study intervention based on a previous charge. Results: Small differences were found in one study that used MICM with women compared to the control group for abstinence of substance use over 12 months, however, overall differences between the treatment and the control group were not significant. Differences in another study were found between MI group and control for 6-months of unsafe drinking habits; however, these differences disappeared at 12-month follow-up. These small differences do not outweigh the majority of the other findings that concluded MI did not have a significant impact on decreasing substance use with justice involved individuals. Conclusion and Implications: The results of the review indicated that MI does not seem to be an effective intervention for reduction of substance use for justice involved individuals. Given these results, practitioners working with this population may want to consider alternative interventions to achieve a decrease in rates of substance use.