Offender Treatment Attrition

Treatment attrition, or the failure to complete treatment and to successfully fulfill program requirements, is a long-standing issue in the treatment of men, women, and youth who break the law. Treatment refers to a broad collection of interventions within a structured program, often delivered in a group format by a therapist (e.g., psychologist, social worker, licensed professional counselor). Attrition means essentially to gradually wear down or decrease, and this term has been used to describe the process of offenders dropping out of treatment (i.e., treatment noncompletion). Since treatment has numerous intended benefits for offenders (e.g., reducing their risk of reoffending and improving their chances of returning to society offense free), treatment attrition has negative consequences for the offenders and others. While there are numerous explanations ...