%0 Journal Article
%T The Relationship Between Early-Phase Substance-Use Trajectories and Drug Court Outcomes
%J Criminal justice and behavior
%D 2011
%A Jones, Craig G. A.
%A Kemp, Richard I.
%V 38
%N 9
%P 913-933
%X This study sought to identify patterns of substance use among 1,019 participants of the New South Wales Drug Court program (Sydney, Australia) between 2003 and 2009. Group-based trajectory modeling identified five groups of participants: compliant participants (24.4%), who had a near-zero probability of returning a positive urine test at each occasion; responding participants (25.3%), for whom the probability of returning a positive test decreased; relapsing participants (14.1%), for whom the probability of returning a positive test increased; mid-level chronic participants (26.0%), who had a one in two chance of returning a positive test at each episode; and a high-level chronic group (10.2%), who had a very high probability of returning a positive test at each episode. Group membership probability was found to be a good predictor of treatment and criminal justice outcomes. The challenge for future research is to identify the characteristics that explain these early-phase substance use trajectories.<p />
%G 
%I SAGE Publishing
%@ 0093-8548
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0093854811411887