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35 J. Crim. Just. Educ. 1 (2024)

handle is hein.journals/jcrimjed35 and id is 1 raw text is: 



JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
2024, VOL. 35, NO. 1, 1-19
https://doi.org/10.1080/10511253.2022.2097719


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Changes in Students' Attitudes towards Substance Use

and Treatment: A Mixed Method Inquiry on Experiential

Learning Tactics


Tereza  Trejbalova     , Linsey A. Belisleb and Emily J. Salisburyc

'School of Public Affairs, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA; bDepartment of Criminal
Justice and Social Work, University of Houston-Downtown, Houston, TX, USA; cCollege of Social
Work, Utah Criminal Justice Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA


   ABSTRACT                                                         ARTICLE HISTORY
   Experiential learning is a valuable tool to increase students'   Received 2 February 2022
   understanding of complex phenomena   we  encounter in criminal   Accepted 27 June 2022
   justice classrooms. This study uses a mixed methods  research
   design to explore the impact of short-term experiential learning KEYWORDS
   tactics in an upper-division course on substance use and treat-  Experiential learning;
   ment. Students were asked to attend a lecture given by an indi-  muxe anethods
   vidual who has engaged in drug use and then either volunteer in
   a treatment-related facility or conduct interviews on drug-related
   topics. Reflection papers on these experiences from 21 participat-
   ing students form the qualitative portion of this study. To meas-
   ure the impact quantitatively, two validated surveys on attitudes
   towards drug  use and harm  reduction were completed  by the
   students at the  beginning and  at the end  of the  semester.
   Findings from both data sources are integrated to provide a holis-
   tic understanding  of  how  the  experiential learning tactics
   impacted students' views towards substance use and harm reduc-
   tion. Our results suggest that the tactics helped students address
   some  of their preconceived notions about harm reduction, drugs,
   and those who  use them, as well as enhanced the course mater-
   ial. We conclude with a discussion focused on practical implica-
   tions, limitations, and suggestions for future directions.





Introduction

Substance  use  disorder (SUD)  represents a major  social and public health  problem  in
the United  States, as approximately  20.4 million individuals' in the U.S. met the diag-
nostic  criteria in 2019 (Substance   Abuse  &  Mental   Health  Services Administration
[SAMHSA],  2020). Only  a fraction of those with an SUD  received treatment  in the same
year (1.5%  or 4.2 million), leaving about 16.2  million individuals untreated (SAMHSA,
2020).  Since an  SUD   diagnosis  is a highly  stigmatized  condition  (Cloyd,  Stiles, &
Diekhoff, 2021),  many   view  the societal stigma   and  its negative consequences as


CONTACT Tereza Trejbalova    ttrejbalova@sdsu.edu
'Includes individuals over the age of 12 years old (see SAMHSA, 2020).
© 2022 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences

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