Effectiveness of Penitentiary Psychoeducational Interventions in Road Safety

Robla, Cristina Escamilla; Fita, Elisa Giménez; Colomer-Pérez, Natura; David Martínez‐Rubio; Navarrete, Jaime · 2024 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.5093/ejpalc2024a8

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (DOI — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This study evaluates the effectiveness of two penitentiary psychoeducational interventions, TASEVAL and PROSEVAL, designed to reduce recidivism and substance use among offenders convicted of crimes against road safety in Spain. The research was motivated by the rising number of convictions for traffic offenses, particularly driving under the influence (DUI), and the increasing reliance on community service orders as a penalty. The study aimed to determine whether these specific educational and therapeutic programs could effectively lower re-offense rates and mitigate alcohol and drug consumption compared to standard community service. The methodology involved a large-scale field study analyzing recidivism data for 57,532 offenders sentenced to community service orders of up to 60 days (CS-60) and 5,765 offenders with orders exceeding 60 days or suspended prison sentences (CS+60). Participants were divided into intervention groups (TASEVAL or PROSEVAL) and control groups performing unrelated community service. Additionally, a subsample of 805 participants underwent pre- and post-intervention assessments using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10) to measure changes in substance use. TASEVAL focused on awareness and re-education through eight sessions, while PROSEVAL included a psychotherapeutic component with cognitive-behavioral techniques for more serious offenders. The results demonstrated a significant association between participation in both intervention programs and reduced recidivism. Compared to the control groups, participation in TASEVAL increased the non-recidivist rate by 14.6%, while PROSEVAL increased it by 58.4%. Regarding substance use, the TASEVAL program showed a significant reduction in unhealthy alcohol and problematic drug use following the intervention. In contrast, the PROSEVAL program did not yield a statistically significant effect on alcohol or drug consumption, indicating a lack of therapeutic impact on these specific mediators despite its success in reducing re-offending. The study also characterized the offender profile, noting that the majority were male, with driving under the influence and driving without a license being the most common offenses. The findings support the efficacy of specialized psychoeducational interventions in reducing recidivism among road safety offenders. The study concludes that while both programs are effective in preventing re-offenses, only TASEVAL successfully addressed the underlying substance use issues that often contribute to risky driving behavior. These results suggest that integrating awareness and re-education strategies can serve as a valuable alternative to custodial sentences, potentially improving public safety and offender rehabilitation outcomes. The implications highlight the importance of tailoring interventions to address both behavioral and psychological factors in traffic offense prevention.

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed.

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• driver education effectiveness

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation