NCT02524171

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT) is effective for reducing risk of criminal recidivism and improving other health-related outcomes (substance use, mental health, housing, and employment problems) among justice-involved Veterans entering residential mental health treatment programs in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
344

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Apr 2016

Longer than P75 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

3 active sites

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

August 5, 2015

Completed
9 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

August 14, 2015

Completed
8 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

April 4, 2016

Completed
4.5 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

September 30, 2020

Completed
6 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

March 30, 2021

Completed
9 months until next milestone

Results Posted

Study results publicly available

December 20, 2021

Completed
Last Updated

July 27, 2023

Status Verified

July 1, 2023

Enrollment Period

4.5 years

First QC Date

August 5, 2015

Results QC Date

October 1, 2021

Last Update Submit

July 19, 2023

Conditions

Antisocial Personality DisorderSubstance Use Disorder

Keywords

crimemental healthsubstance abusehomelessnessVeterans

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

  • Risk for Criminal Recidivism (Criminal Thinking)

    The Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (56 items) was administered to assess criminal thinking. The measure includes scales of Mollification, Cutoff, Entitlement, Power Orientation, Super-optimism, Cognitive Indolence, and Discontinuity . Scores on these scales were summed to create a General Criminal Thinking score, which has been validated as an overall index of recidivism risk. Higher scores equate to more criminal thinking. Scores were converted to a T-score metric (M=50, SD=10), calculated in reference to norms from samples of incarcerated offenders.

    6 months (post-baseline)

  • Risk for Criminal Recidivism (Criminal Thinking)

    The Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (56 items) was administered to assess criminal thinking. The measure includes scales of Mollification, Cutoff, Entitlement, Power Orientation, Super-optimism, Cognitive Indolence, and Discontinuity . Scores on these scales were summed to create a General Criminal Thinking score, which has been validated as an overall index of recidivism risk. Higher scores equate to more criminal thinking. Scores were converted to a T-score metric (M=50, SD=10), calculated in reference to norms from samples of incarcerated offenders.

    12 months (post-baseline)

Secondary Outcomes (14)

  • Alcohol Use

    6 months (post-baseline)

  • Drug Use

    6 months (post-baseline)

  • Criminal Associates

    6 months (post-baseline)

  • Employment Problem Severity

    6 months (post-baseline)

  • Alcohol Use Problem Severity.

    6 months (post-baseline)

  • +9 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (2)

Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT)

EXPERIMENTAL

MRT is a group-based cognitive-behavioral intervention to restructure antisocial thinking. Patients will receive two groups per week of this intervention for approximately 12 weeks, in addition to the usual care they receive in the mental health residential rehabilitation treatment program.

Behavioral: Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT)

Usual Care (UC)

NO INTERVENTION

Usual care provided by the mental health residential rehabilitation treatment programs, which patients in both groups are in.

Interventions

Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT)BEHAVIORAL

MRT is a group-based cognitive-behavioral intervention to restructure antisocial thinking. Patients will receive two groups per week of this intervention for approximately 12 weeks, in addition to the usual care they receive in the mental health residential rehabilitation treatment program.

Also known as: MRT
Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT)

Eligibility Criteria

Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsChild (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Veterans who
  • (a) are entering a mental health residential rehabilitation treatment program (MH RRTP) at one of three study sites (Palo Alto, Little Rock, or Bedford VA), and
  • (b) had been arrested and charged and/or released from incarceration in the past 5 years prior to MH RRTP admission will be eligible for participation

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (3)

Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center, Little Rock, AR

North Little Rock, Arkansas, 72114-1706, United States

Location

VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA

Palo Alto, California, 94304-1207, United States

Location

VA Bedford HealthCare System, Bedford, MA

Bedford, Massachusetts, 01730-1114, United States

Location

Related Publications (7)

  • Timko C, Booth BM, Han X, Schultz NR, Blonigen DM, Wong JJ, Cucciare MA. Criminogenic Needs, Substance Use, and Offending among Rural Stimulant Users. Rural Ment Health. 2017 Apr;41(2):110-122. doi: 10.1037/rmh0000065.

    PMID: 29051795RESULT

  • Blonigen DM, Cucciare MA, Timko C, Smith JS, Harnish A, Kemp L, Rosenthal J, Smelson D. Study protocol: a hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial of Moral Reconation Therapy in the US Veterans Health Administration. BMC Health Serv Res. 2018 Mar 7;18(1):164. doi: 10.1186/s12913-018-2967-3.

    PMID: 29514649RESULT

  • Blonigen DM, Smith JS, Javier S, Cucciare MA, Timko C, Nevedal AL, Filice N, Rosenthal J, Smelson D. Implementation Potential of Moral Reconation Therapy for Criminal Recidivism in Mental Health Residential Programs. Psychiatr Serv. 2022 Aug 1;73(8):856-863. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.202100089. Epub 2022 Jan 26.

    PMID: 35080418RESULT

  • Blonigen DM, Cucciare MA, Byrne T, Shaffer PM, Giordano B, Smith JS, Timko C, Rosenthal J, Smelson D. A randomized controlled trial of moral reconation therapy to reduce risk for criminal recidivism among justice-involved adults in mental health residential treatment. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2022 May;90(5):413-426. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000721. Epub 2022 Apr 11.

    PMID: 35404638RESULT

  • Ward M, Baldwin N, Blonigen DM. Assessing the impact of combat trauma on the severity, expression, and course of posttraumatic stress disorder in justice-involved veterans. Psychol Trauma. 2025 Jun 2:10.1037/tra0001950. doi: 10.1037/tra0001950. Online ahead of print.

    PMID: 40455528DERIVED

  • Timko C, Vest N, Cucciare MA, Smelson D, Blonigen D. Substance use and criminogenic thinking: Longitudinal latent class analysis of veterans with criminal histories. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2022 Dec;143:108893. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2022.108893. Epub 2022 Oct 1.

    PMID: 36215912DERIVED

  • Gibbon S, Khalifa NR, Cheung NH, Vollm BA, McCarthy L. Psychological interventions for antisocial personality disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Sep 3;9(9):CD007668. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007668.pub3.

    PMID: 32880104DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Antisocial Personality DisorderSubstance-Related DisordersPsychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personality DisordersMental DisordersChemically-Induced DisordersPersonal SatisfactionBehavior

Results Point of Contact

Title
Daniel M. Blonigen, PhD
Organization
Center for Innovation to Implementation, VA Palo Alto
daniel.blonigen@va.gov
650-493-5000

Study Officials

  • Daniel M. Blonigen, PhD MA

    VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

PI is Sponsor Employee
Yes

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Masking Details
Research Assistants conducting the 6- and 12- month outcome assessments are blinded to condition assignment.
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
FED
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

August 5, 2015

First Posted

August 14, 2015

Study Start

April 4, 2016

Primary Completion

September 30, 2020

Study Completion

March 30, 2021

Last Updated

July 27, 2023

Results First Posted

December 20, 2021

Record last verified: 2023-07

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share

Locations

US(3)