The Impact of Insight, Psychological Functioning, and Treatment Resistance on Completion of Diversion Programs

Offenders are three to five times more likely to struggle with mental health challenges compared to that of the general population. As such, mental health is a major concern for individuals within the criminal justice system (Bronson & Berzofsky, 2017; Desmond & Lenz, 2010; Fazel & Seewald, 2012; Gonzalez & Connell, 2014; Hall et al., 2019; Linhorst & Dirks-Linhorst, 2015). Despite the significant number of offenders who are reportedly struggling with mental health, there is difficulty providing inmates with mental health treatment in general. Within correctional facilities, various treatment programs are available for inmates; however, there is limited access due to limited resources, limited staff, or lack of awareness of these programs. Similarly, there are mental health treatment programs in the community, including mental health diversion programs, that offenders may be referred to for mental health treatment. Offenders who participate in diversion programs may exhibit difficulties completing the programs due to lacking insight, experiencing deficits within their psychological functioning, or being resistant to treatment. The purpose of this study is to examine how an offender’s level of insight, psychological functioning, and treatment resistance may impact their ability to complete a mental health diversion program. A sample of 106 participants in an outpatient mental health diversion program was utilized. A binary logistic regression was conducted to analyze the data from the archival database. Notably, insight, psychological functioning, and treatment resistance were not found to significantly impact their ability to complete the program