Is a change in social competencies associated with a change in drug use and crime in substance-abusing offenders? Evidence from the breaking the cycle demonstration project.

These findings add to the evidence of the success of the Breaking the Cycle Demonstration Project in reducing drug use and offending by finding that improvements in social competencies among substance-abusing participants may be a critical step in reducing drug use. The route to reducing reoffending is not so dependent on a single pathway, although findings suggest that more attention should be paid to both changing and measuring social competencies in future interventions with substance-misusing offenders.