DOI: 10.3886/icpsr09991.v2
title: Modeling the Crime Reduction Effects and Economic Benefits of Drug Abuse Treatment, 1979-1981: [United States]
title: Version 2

description: This data collection provides information on the effectiveness of drug treatment in reducing crime, the differences in criminal behaviors between drug treatment clients coming from the criminal justice system and those who did not, and the economic costs of client criminal activities before, during, and after drug treatment. The study used secondary data derived from the Treatment Outcome Prospective Study (TOPS). TOPS is a longitudinal survey with data on over 11,000 drug users admitted to 41 different treatment programs in 10 different cities across the United States for the years 1979-1981. For each wave of data collection, all clients who made contact with selected TOPS treatment programs completed intake interviews. A subsample of these clients were then interviewed during treatment at one- and three-month intervals after admission to treatment. Finally, follow-up interviews were conducted with these clients one and two years following treatment or three to five years following treatment. Complete data from two waves, 1979 and 1980, and partial data from the third wave, 1981, are available in this collection. Part 1, Analysis Data, contains selected intake, in-treatment, and follow-up data available for all respondents in the 1979 and 1980 TOPS cohorts who completed one-year follow-up interviews. Variables pertain to demographic characteristics of clients, drug treatment programs in which they were enrolled, activities and behaviors of clients during in-treatments, particularly those related to drug involvement, criminal involvement, employment, and income, and activities and behaviors during the 3- and 12-month follow-ups. Part 2, Cost Analysis Data, contains cost analysis data on all respondents in the 1979 and 1980 cohorts. Variables describe the criminal activities of drug treatment clients up to one year before treatment, during treatment, and after treatment and also estimate the cost of crime as a result of the respondent's activities (victim cost, criminal justice system cost, and crime career/productivity cost). Part 3, Supplementary Cost Analysis Data, 1981, contains supplementary follow-up data for all respondents in the 1981 cohort. Information is included on the criminal activities of drug treatment clients three to five years after treatment and the estimated resulting cost of these activities. Part 4, Full Sample of Initial Intake Interview Data, consists of intake interview data for all the samples in the TOPS study. The file contains interview reference variables, demographic and background characteristics of clients, and drug treatment center admission variables, as well as items on clients' living arrangements, alcohol and drug use, drug treatment history, illegal activities, employment, and income and expenditures.
description: Datasets: 
 
 DS0: Study-Level Files 
 DS1: Analysis Data 
 DS2: Cost Analysis Data 
 DS3: Supplementary Cost Analysis Data, 1981 
 DS4: Full Sample of Initial Intake Interview Data
description: All drug treatment clients in the United States.
description: The 10 cities and 41 treatment program sites were purposely selected (1) to represent large- and medium-sized urban areas with certain types of drug problems, (2) to include programs that offered all the major treatment modalities, and (3) to represent what were believed to be effective approaches to treatment. Intake interviews for Treatment Outcome Prospective Study (TOPS) clients employed a census rather than a sample, except for one detoxification program. Some Treatment Alternatives to Street Crimes Programs (TASC) clients not referred to TOPS also completed intake interviews. Of those who completed the intake interview, subsequent in-treatment interviews were scheduled and conducted until a client refused, missed two consecutive appointments, died or was rendered incapable of participation, or left the program. Stratified sampling was used to select sample cohorts for the follow-up interviews among TOPS clients. All TASC clients who were assigned to one of the outpatient drug-free and residential modalities and who completed an intake interview were selected to be interviewed for the follow-up study. The primary sample selection strata were treatment modalities for all three cohorts. Secondary strata for the 1979 cohort were treatment programs by time-in-program categories, while for the 1980 and 1981 cohort samples the secondary strata were the treatment programs.