Illicit substance use is becoming a major global issue. In Indonesia, inmates imprisoned for illicit substance offences accounted for 40% of the total inmate population. This study aimed to identify the effects of cognitive behavioral and family psychoeducational therapies on inmates' anxiety in the narcotics correctional facility. Quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test with control group was employed in this study. Intervention Group 1 received a general nursing intervention whereas Intervention Group 2 received a combination of general nursing intervention with cognitive behavioral and family psychoeducational therapies. This study involved 31 inmates for each group. Data were collected using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and were analyzed using repeated ANOVA and independent t-tests. The study demonstrated that anxiety was significantly lower among those who received the combination of those three therapies compared to those who received general nursing intervention standalone (p < .005). This study suggested the implementation of both general nursing intervention and specialty therapies, particularly cognitive behavioral and family psychoeducational therapies, to address the anxiety problems experienced by adolescent inmates suffering from illicit substance dependence.
Keywords: Adolescent inmates; anxiety; cognitive behavioral therapy; family psychoeducational therapy.