DUI/DWI-Referred Clients' Attributes to Outpatient Treatment Completion

Background: Driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated (DUI/DWI) continues to be a severe and persistent threat to public safety. It is estimated that more than 13 percent of persons aged 16 or older (30 million persons) drove under the influence of alcohol and/or illicit drugs in the past 12 months.  Although it is recognized that the treatment of DWI offenders is a critical element in preventing recidivism, only a small percent of DUI/DWI offenders are admitted to substance abuse treatment. Moreover, studies focusing on DUI/DWI-referred treatment client characteristics in relation to treatment success are very sparse. Methods:  Using  4,381 non-duplicated administrative treatment records of DUI-referred adult clients (21 or older) admitted to and discharged from 18 outpatient treatment programs between 2001 and 2006 in a metropolitan county of a Midwestern state, we explored predictors of treatment completion. Multilevel random intercept models were used to adjust for patient nesting within clinics. Results: Seventy three percent of DUI/DWI clients completed treatment. We identified gender (female), age (older), race and ethnicity (whites compared to African Americans), primary substance of abuse (alcohol vs. other), problem severity (abuse vs. dependent), and previous treatment history (1 or more previous treatment) as all being significantly (positively) related to treatment completion. Conclusion:  The client characteristics that are associated with treatment completion suggest that treatment programs should tune in for younger minority male offenders with previous treatment history and severer substance use disorder.  Future studies of long term treatment effects on recidivism among DUI/DWI offenders are recommended.