An evaluation of motivational interviewing as a method of intervention with clients in a probation setting

There have been increasing calls on the probation service to demonstrate effectiveness with the recent Evidence Based Practice guide (Home Office, 1998) explicitly citing evaluative research as a means of achieving this. This article describes the quantitative part of a research project undertaken within the Middlesex Probation Service to evaluate the introduction of motivational interviewing as a technique to aid 18 probation officers in their assessment and supervision of 35 offenders (mean age 33 yrs) who misuse alcohol and drugs. Results suggest that, irrespective of stratification, all offenders indicated an improvement in their questionnaire scores during their contact with the probation service. However, there were more statistically significant improvements in the attitudinal scales amongst offenders whose officers were trained in the technique compared to officers who were not trained in motivational interviewing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)