# Strengthening a Brief Intervention for Justice-Involved Substance Users by Harnessing Mechanisms of Change

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · 2020 · $418,906

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract.
Substance use among justice-involved individuals constitutes a public health problem that is linked to negative
consequences for offenders, their families, and their communities. As criminal justice reform becomes a reality
in the United States and more justice-involved substance users join the general population, there is reason for
therapeutic optimism. Our preliminary work shows that measuring heterogeneity in psychopathic personality
traits can guide the use of a brief substance use intervention to people who will benefit. Our innovative
assessment and matching-to-treatment approach has promise for a) revealing the true efficacy of a brief
motivational intervention (BMI) for justice-involved substance users at varying levels of psychopathic traits,
and b) explaining contradictions in the BMI literature. Additionally, the current proposal is a Phase III
randomized clinical trial in which we will use rigorous multi-method assessment to test two putative
mechanisms of change: commitment to change and self-regulation. By elucidating the mechanisms through
which justice-involved substance users' change in treatment, we will make adaptations that further strengthen
our intervention and increase the range of people who benefit. Hypotheses that will be examined include: 1)
that a BMI, adapted for use in criminal justice supervisory settings, will reduce substance use relative to
Standard Care for individuals with low/moderate affective traits of psychopathy, 2) that the reduction in
substance use will be mediated by commitment to change and an increase in self-regulation, enabling
adaptations that target these processes and lead to a better intervention, and 3) that the moderated reduction
in substance use will mediate a reduction in violent recidivism at follow-up.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9961563
- **Project number:** 5R01DA043660-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Marc Swogger
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $418,906
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9961563

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9961563, Strengthening a Brief Intervention for Justice-Involved Substance Users by Harnessing Mechanisms of Change (5R01DA043660-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9961563. Licensed CC0.

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