Objective: Young migrants from Russia born in German families are seen as a special risk group for drug and alcohol addiction as well as for criminality. In Russia, they were marginalized as Germans, now in Germany, they are marginalized as Russians - and they repeat in Germany the internal structures of distrust against the police and other government agencies. In prisons and in forensic units, this group of young German-Russians are strongly over represented compared with to share in the general population. In prisons, they are a problem group mainly speaking Russian language, forming mafia like clans and dealing drugs - all this prevents the rehabilitation. Methods and Results: In sharp contrast, a forensic department succeeds in integrating these people by a consequent therapeutic community approach with highly frequent group psychotherapy, intensive work, sports, autonomy in cleaning the rooms and individual teaching possibilities in German language and other specialties with a teacher working on the ward. Conclusion: Despite published negative experiences, it is well possible to improve the legal and social prognosis of Russian-German migrants by applying a consequent milieu- and psychotherapeutic setting utilizing actively the resources of these patients. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart.

Forensic addiction treatment Therapeutic community Young German immigrants from the former Soviet Union

Russia antisocial personality disorder Germany Russian Federation Social Identification human comorbidity Combined Modality Therapy violence Psychotherapy, Group Ethnic Groups Prisoners Substance-Related Disorders socialization alcoholism drug dependence prognosis Cross-Sectional Studies psychotherapy Humans family male Emigrants and Immigrants Acculturation crime female Risk Factors Review high risk population prison sport adult migration government criminal behavior therapeutic community teaching Multilingualism Commitment of Mentally Ill