Many recent evaluations have suggested that therapeutic community programs, particularly those programs followed by aftercare treatment, can be effective in reducing drug use and recidivism. Despite the successes of the well-established programs, there exists a need to examine the actual implementation (therapeutic integrity) of many newer programs labeled therapeutic communities. This study developed and implemented a structured observation and interview methodology to more adequately measure therapeutic integrity and thus fill several gaps identified in the previous literature. The article concludes by discussing the benefits of using a systematic social observation technique in the evaluation of treatment programs for offenders.
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