Group interventions for trauma and substance misuse available for women in criminal justice services: a systematic review of the literature

Abstract

Purpose In recent years, group interventions have been designed to simultaneously treat the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance misuse. This study aims to explore the research literature available regarding these interventions, for women who are involved in the criminal justice system. Design/methodology/approach Five electronic databases were searched. The review included primary research papers which reported quantitative outcomes for group interventions for female offenders. The quality of each paper was assessed using the framework developed by Kmet et al. (2004). Findings A total of 13 research papers met the inclusion criteria and were selected for this review. The papers indicated promising results for the treatment of PTSD and substance misuse in this population group. Practical implications This area of research is in early development. Studies adopted different research designs and used different outcome measures to assess effectiveness. The quality assessment indicated that future research should adopt standardised assessment measures, blind researchers to reduce bias and implement randomised controlled trials to produce more robust findings. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this systematic review is the first to explore the effectiveness of these interventions, specifically for women in the criminal justice system. The authors consider the existing evidence base for this population group and propose measures for future research.