Efficacy of a treatment program based on positive psychology for drug use in juvenile offenders. / Eficacia de un programa de tratamiento en el consumo de drogas en menores infractores desde la psicología positiva.

One of the factors that increase the likelihood of adolescents starting to exhibit and consolidate anti-social behavior is drug use, with a consistent pattern of consumption of different substance found in young offenders (Aebi, Bessler & Steinhausen, 2021). A cognitive-behavioral group treatment program inspired by the positive psychology approach was developed and applied to drug use in minors deprived of liberty (experimental group); the results were compared to those of a group of adolescents with the same type of drug use in the same center (active control group) at two points in time: during and after incarceration. The fall in the rate of problems associated with drug use after incarceration in the experimental group was statistically significant compared to the control group, and the effect size of the experimental condition was large (ῆ^2 = 0.55), much higher than the control group (ῆ^2 = 0.16). The treatment program has proven to be an effective tool for reducing problems associated with drug use and is especially effective in reducing alcohol and cannabis consumption.

Uno de los factores que aumentan en mayor medida la probabilidad de que los adolescentes inicien y consoliden comportamientos antisociales es el consumo de drogas, encontrándose un patrón consistente de consumo de diferentes sustancias en los menores infractores (Aebi, Bessler y Steinhausen, 2021). Para la redacción del presente trabajo se desarrolló y aplicó un programa de tratamiento, de corte cognitivo ­ conductual e inspirado en el enfoque de la psicología positiva, para el consumo de drogas en menores de edad privados de libertad (grupo experimental). Los resultados se compararon con los de un grupo de adolescentes con la misma tipología de consumo internos en el mismo Centro (grupo control activo) en dos momentos, durante y tras el internamiento. El grupo experimental redujo de manera estadísticamente significativa la tasa de problemas asociados al consumo de drogas en comparación con el grupo control tras el internamiento, siendo el tamaño del efecto de la condición experimental elevado (ῆ

Alcohol consumption, illicit substances, and intimate partner violence in a sample of batterers in psychological treatment.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the alcohol and illicit substance consumption characteristics in a sample of 572 batterers in treatment by court order. The results indicate that the prevalence of alcohol consumption in the past year was 89.3%, whereas within illicit substances, the prevalences were higher for cannabis (27.8%), followed by cocaine 20.3%). In order to analyze the possible effect of consumption on levels of perpetration and victimization of partner-aggression, the sample was divided into 4 groups: nonconsumers (16.3%), alcohol consumers (58.6%), illicit drug consumers (3.5%), and consumers of alcohol and illicit drugs (21.7%), finding that the groups of nonconsumers and alcohol consumers presented the lowest level of perpetration of psychological, physical, and sexual aggression and of victimization of psychological and physical aggression, whereas the group of consumers of alcohol and illicit drugs presented the highest levels. The results reveal the need to assess substance consumption when designing intervention protocols with batterers.

Consumo de alcohol, sustancias ilegales y violencia hacia la pareja en una muestra de maltratadores en tratamiento psicológico / Alcohol consumption, illicit substances, and intimate partner violence in a sample of batterers in psychological treatment

Este estudio tiene como objetivo analizar las características de consumo de alcohol y sustancias ilegales en una muestra de 572 maltratadores en tratamiento por orden judicial. Los resultados indican que la prevalencia de consumo de alcohol en el último año fue de 89,3%, mientras que dentro de las sustancias ilegales las prevalencias más altas fueron para cannabis (27,8%) seguido de cocaína (20,3%). Con el objetivo de analizar el posible efecto del consumo sobre los niveles de perpetración y victimización de agresiones hacia la pareja, se dividió la muestra en 4 grupos: no consumidores (16,3%), consumidores de alcohol (58,6%), consumidores de drogas ilegales (3,5%) y consumidores de alcohol y drogas ilegales (21,7%), encontrándose que el grupo de los no consumidores y el de los consumidores de alcohol son los que presentan los niveles más bajos en perpetración de agresiones psicológicas, físicas y sexuales y victimización de agresiones psicológicas y físicas, mientras que el grupo de consumidores de alcohol e ilegales es el que presenta los niveles más elevados. Los resultados hallados ponen de manifiesto la necesidad de evaluar el consumo de sustancias a la hora de diseñar protocolos de intervención con maltratadores

The purpose of this study is to analyze the alcohol and illicit substance consumption characteristics in a sample of 572 batterers in treatment by court order. The results indicate that the prevalence of alcohol consumption in the past year was 89.3%, whereas within illicit substances, the prevalences were higher for cannabis (27.8%), followed by cocaine (20.3%). In order to analyze the possible effect of consumption on levels of perpetration and victimization of partneraggression, the sample was divided into 4 groups: nonconsumers (16.3%), alcohol consumers (58.6%), illicit drug consumers (3.5%), and consumers of alcohol and illicit drugs (21.7%), finding that the groups of nonconsumers and alcohol consumers presented the lowest level of perpetration of psychological, physical, and sexual aggression and of victimization of psychological and physical aggression, whereas the group of consumers of alcohol and illicit drugs presented the highest levels. The results reveal the need to assess substance consumption when designing intervention protocols with batterers