Effectiveness of motivational interviewing with justice-involved people: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: Motivational interviewing (MI) is increasingly recognized as an effective approach in forensic settings, particularly for overcoming resistance by avoiding confrontation and fostering intrinsic motivation. Research shows that interventions incorporating MI are more effective than other approaches in preventing and reducing offending behavior, highlighting its importance in improving intervention outcomes. Given this evidence, advocating for the integration of MI is crucial to enhance the effectiveness of interventions. Method: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to systematize knowledge and assess the effectiveness of interventions incorporating MI for justice-involved people who have been sentenced to custodial or non-custodial measures. Twenty-two studies were included. The total sample size of the studies ranged from 25 to 528 individuals convicted of various offences, including intimate partner violence, violent crimes, sexual offences, property crimes, driving offences, and drug offences. Results: Results indicated that MI is more effective in increasing session attendance and reducing dropout than interventions without MI. For official recidivism, evidence favored MI with a statistically significant reduction in recidivism rates. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of integrating MI into forensic settings, establishing its positive impact on numerous outcomes.
Teresa Pinto e Silva is supported by a PhD Fellowship from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT; Ref. 2023.02008.BD). This work was conducted at Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, supported by FCT (UID/01662/2020) through the Portuguese State Budget.