It's Not What You Know But Whom You Know: Cultural Capital in Drug Court Participants

Abstract

The primary focus of drug courts has been to provide an alternative to traditional sentencing using psychological methods in the form of counseling and drug testing. While much research exists on drug courts, little is known about how a participant’s cultural capital impacts the overall recovery/rehabilitation process. To offer some preliminary insights, the current study examined interactions between participant cultural capital and the rate of participant progress through the program as well as the level of obstacles to progress that participants encountered. An analysis of these three variables indicated that the participants significantly lack the necessary cultural resources sufficient for an upward social mobility indicative of overall success in the program. Further analysis of these variables pinpointed several clusters of participants whose levels of cultural capital were associated with progress in the program as well as obstacles encountered throughout treatment. Results are not only discussed with reference to factors conducive to “program success” or processes that reduce future recidivism but also by offering a number of trajectories for future research.