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Offender RehabilitationWhat We Know and What Needs to Be Done
Abstract
Enormous gains in knowledge regarding the effective treatment of offenders for the purposes of reducing recidivism have been accomplished in recent years. Several successful assessment and treatment strategies have been identified in this regard. Nevertheless, there are obstacles to future progress in the field. These are identified as theoreticism, failure to effect technology transfer, and a dearth of suitable training programs. Some suggestions are advanced for addressing these problems.
... To understand the variability in effectiveness, Andrews, Gendreau, Ross, and Bonta set out to study and identify the principles that differentiate effective from ineffective programs (Gendreau, 1996). They reviewed an exhaustive collection of narrative reviews, meta-analyses, and individual studies to identify several principles. ...
... The risk principle provides guidance on the population that should receive the most intensive treatment services. Treatment programs are more effective at reducing recidivism when they are provided to higher risk offenders (Gendreau, 1996). The higher risk offenders have more needs, thus they will benefit more from more intensive services. ...
... The goal of this principle, though twofold, aims to provide treatment in a way that will increase the likelihood that offenders will respond to it. This includes all of the above suggestions on providing cognitive behavioral treatment, removing as many individual barriers as possible, and matching treatment providers with offenders receiving the treatment (Gendreau, 1996). ...
... En este tipo de trabajos se plantean también las preguntas que continúan sin respuesta y las líneas de investigación futura más coherentes con el estado de la cuestión. En esta línea cabe destacar trabajos como los de Gendrau y Ross (1980, 1987, Gendrau (1996) y Palmer (1992. ...
... Por el contrario, parten del supuesto de que tanto los delincuentes como los no delincuentes tienen un potencial de aprendizaje que pueden, deben y normalmente desean usar (Gendrau y Ross, 1980). Más recientemente, Gendrau (1996) coincide con los autores citados afirmando que los programas que no reducen, y que incluso pueden llegar a aumentar ligeramente, la reincidencia implican: (a) terapias tradicionales de tipo psicodinámico y no-directivas centradas en el cliente; ...
... En casos extremos sólo las medidas muy restrictivas tienen efecto, pero existen límites que la ética marca y que no tienen que ver con la efectividad del tratamiento. En síntesis, deberían ser programas muy intensos y de pocos meses de duración (Gendrau, 1996) Por último, la escasa relación entre las entidades implicadas también contribuye a que los programas no consigan los resultados esperados. Las trabas burocráticas y políticas dificultan e incluso impiden la cooperación entre distintos profesionales y permiten sólo programas conservadores y muy limitados. ...
... With regard to type of treatment, Scott (1976) indicated that no one theoretical approach is most effective with inmate populations; however, group therapists viewed cognitive-behavioral strategies (e.g., helping inmates in developing realistic thoughts or beliefs) as highly important and effective with regard to group psychotherapy topical issues. That cognitive-behavioral theory was incorporated into the rehabilitation process was reassuring as, according to Gendreau (1996), it is imperative for effective correctional rehabilitation to occur. Although cognitive-behavioral theory is critical to the rehabilitation process for offenders (Gendreau, 1996) and is in fact being implemented in correctional psychology, there remains a lack of structured cognitive-behavioral treatment programs available for practitioners. ...
... That cognitive-behavioral theory was incorporated into the rehabilitation process was reassuring as, according to Gendreau (1996), it is imperative for effective correctional rehabilitation to occur. Although cognitive-behavioral theory is critical to the rehabilitation process for offenders (Gendreau, 1996) and is in fact being implemented in correctional psychology, there remains a lack of structured cognitive-behavioral treatment programs available for practitioners. Several theory-driven books regarding cognitive-behavioral theories with offender populations are available (e.g., Hollin, 1990;Yochelson & Samenow, 1976); but there is an increased need for the development of structured treatment protocols, especially given the number of nondoctoraltrained practitioners in the correctional field. ...
Facilitating group psychotherapy in correctional settings presents dilemmas and concerns that are unmatched in other environments, often leaving clinicians grasping for therapeutic advantages. This article provides information regarding national practices of group psychotherapy services for male inmates in state correctional facilities (n = 79) as reported by correctional mental health providers (n = 162). The general findings of this study will be of interest to group psychotherapy providers employed in correctional facilities; however, of particular importance for doctoral-level psychologists is their potential role in fulfilling a need for the active development and evaluation of group psychotherapy programs in correctional settings.
... Moving forward, programs like this DS program may be improved with the inclusion of more structured incentives for rule-abiding behaviors (Farabee et al., 1999). This could include low-cost modifications such as allowing participants access to more personal property as they progress through the program or allowing for increased access to one's family and social network through increased access to visitation (Gendreau, 1996;Ingel et al., 2021). It could be especially useful to use incentives that were identified by participants as meaningful to them. ...
... In addition to targeting the influence of security threat groups (STGs), one potential solution to this would be the incorporation of aftercare services or "booster sessions" for those who complete the program (Meyers et al., 2018). Consistent with principles of effective intervention, relapse prevention in the form of booster sessions are necessary as program effects diminish over time (Cullen & Gendreau, 1989;Gendreau, 1996). This approach could include providing safe avenues for individuals to disengage from their participation in STGs. ...
People who engage in violence during their incarceration create a number of challenges for those who live and work in our correctional facilities. In response, there is a growing focus on the use of short-term confinement in disciplinary segregation that includes therapeutic programming. The ability of these programs to affect future behavior, however, is mixed. To better understand why research is mixed, the current study incorporates the views and perspectives of staff and participants involved in rehabilitative efforts within a segregated housing setting. Structured interviews were carried out with 25 former program participants and 10 correctional staff who oversee the day-to-day management of a disciplinary segregation program in a U.S. prison that includes rehabilitative programming. Subject perspectives provide additional direction for the inclusion of programming in segregated housing and a note of caution for programs that are alternative in name but traditional in practice.
... In our studies, all participants were recruited from The Social Therapy Department (STD) of the Juvenile correction center in Berlin (Jugendstrafanstalt Berlin). STD provides offenders with a multimodal cognitive-behavioral treatment based on the RNR-model and, in particular, on the determined dynamic risk factors (Andrews & Bonta, 2010;Gendreau, 1996). The treatment program incorporates diverse CBT-therapeutic techniques such as cognitive restructuring, model learning, modifying various cognitive processes (e.g., interpreting social cues), identifying and correcting dysfunctional cognitions, developing alternative solutions, and choosing prosocial that procriminal behaviors. ...
... The Social Therapy Department (STD) of the Juvenile correction center focuses on offender treatment (systemic, behavioral and analytical paradigms) based on the RNR-model and, concretely, on the determined dynamic risk factors (Andrews & Bonta, 2010;Gendreau, 1996). As per German juvenile penal law (JSt-VollzG), the STD was designed to host and provide psychotherapeutic treatment for three main offender groups: (1) severe violent offenders with a high recidivism risk, (2) severe sex offenders with a high recidivism risk, and (3) persistent "chronic" offenders. ...
Many studies reveal that unchangeable static variables, such as prior offending history and membership in high-risk demographic subgroups, consistently predict recidivism. Recent risk assessment research focuses on dynamic attributes — attitudes, values, and interpersonal skills that are modified by new experiences and, thus, may change during the residential stay. The current work is dedicated to examining one specific dynamic factor – the hostile attributions bias (HAB) – as well as its dynamic change over time. We supposed that the complex nature of cognitive biases can be defined in various ways, e.g. as immanent personality disposition, as social-cognitive interpretation bias, and even as perceptual bias. Therefore, the present dissertational study integrated mixed quantitative and qualitative research, acknowledging that combined approaches are best suitable for assessing complex phenomena in social science research since they can provide real-life contextual understandings and multi-level perspectives on diverse research questions. We used a multi-method approach to assess HAB as well as multiple statistical approaches to determine which method is most sensitive to changes in the treatment of distorted cognitions. We evaluated the sensitivity to change of three tools (structured questionnaires, semiprojective tool and computer-based perception task) using three statistical methods for identifying aggregate (group ES, Cohen’s d and SRM) and individual changes over time (RCI, individual ES and SEM). The semiprojective method was shown to be sensitive to identifying the largest proportion of change at both aggregate and individual level. At the individual level all three assessment methods showed sensitivity to change. The use of multi-method research is highly relevant for determining intervention changes in corrective settings. Implications for clinical practice, recommendations for future research, and study limitations are discussed. Multi-method assessment of the hostile attribution bias in juvenile violent offenders: determining the sensitivity to change of three different assessment methods
... This is counterproductive for behavioral change and inconsistent with the principle of responsivity in RNR. On the contrary, the evidence is compelling (see Andrews & Bonta, 2010;Gendreau, 1996aGendreau, , 1996b) that interpersonally sensitive therapists working from a service-oriented perspective produce better outcomes with offenders. ...
... Third, significantly different levels of incarceration across latent classes driven by CER strategies among prisoners highlight the importance of individual differences in CER when designing correction programs. Despite the general efficacy of cognitive-behavioral approaches in reducing criminal behaviors among offenders [41], research indicates differing responsiveness to interventions among offenders [38,42,43]. In terms of correctional intervention effectiveness, understanding how individuals regulate their emotions leading to incarceration can inform program design adjusting to specific cognitive and emotional processes. ...
Prisoners are exposed to a deprived environment, which triggers mental illness and psychological problems. Abundant research has reported that mental illness problems, suicide, aggression, and violent behaviors occur in incarcerated people. Although the mental healthcare system for incarcerated people is emphasized, little research has been conducted due to their limited environment. In particular, the regulation of negative emotion is significantly associated with mental illness and anti-social and violent behaviors. However, mental healthcare through cognitive emotional regulation based on cognitive behavioral therapy has not been fully investigated. This study identified four different patterns in cognitive strategies for regulating negative emotions. Cognitive emotional regulation strategies (i.e., self-blame, other-blame, rumination, catastrophizing, putting into perspective, positive refocusing, positive reappraisal, acceptance, and refocus on planning) were examined and addressed their vulnerable psychological factors. We analyzed a total of 500 prisoners’ responses to the cognitive emotional regulation questionnaire (CERQ) by latent class profiling analysis. A four-class model was identified based on the responses of CERQ. In addition, the significant effect of depression on classifying the four classes was found. Furthermore, differences in the average number of incarcerations were also shown across four classes. In conclusion, Class 2 (Negative Self-Blamer) uses dysfunctional/negative strategies that may place the group at a high risk of psychological disorder symptoms, including depression and post-traumatic stress. Class 3 (Distorted Positivity) uses positive/functional strategies but seems to utilize the positive strategies in distorted manners to rationalize their convictions. Class 1 (Strong Blamer) and Class 4 (Moderator Blamer) showed similar patterns focused on the “other-blame” strategy for regulating negative emotion, but they are at different levels, indicating that they attribute incarceration to external factors. These findings provide useful information for designing mental healthcare interventions for incarcerated people and psychological therapy programs for clinical and correctional psychologists in forensic settings.
... This model includes both static and dynamic risk factors (i.e., those which are unchangeable due to their historical nature, such as criminal history, and those which reflect held attitudes or ongoing behavioral choices), all of which exist conjunctively in contributing to overall risk. The best predictors (called the "Big Four") of future criminal behavior include both static (criminal history) and dynamic (antisocial personality pattern, antisocial thinking, and antisocial associates) dimensions of the central eight (Andrews & Bonta, 2010;Andrews et al., 2006;Gendreau, 1996). As the dynamic risk factors are those which are most amenable to change, they are the ones which offer the greatest promise for correctional intervention (e.g., Andrews & Bonta, 2010). ...
Evaluation of criminal thinking is important in correctional assessments because of its salience to recidivism, or relapse of criminal behavior. The Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) is a common instrument which assesses criminal thinking, one of the most salient risk factors of recidivism. However, little is known about the accuracy of the validity scales of this instrument. This study examines the effectiveness of the PICTS’ over-reporting validity indicator, the Confusion-revised (Cf-r) scale, using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form’s (MMPI-2-RF) over-reporting validity scales as criterion measures. The sample is composed of 165 mostly white (66%), mid-to-late 20 s (M = 27.4 years old, SD = 8.3), males who underwent a mental health evaluation in a court-ordered residential treatment facility. All participants had a prior substance-use-disorder diagnosis and moderate to high criminal risk. Mean comparisons across MMPI-2-RF recommended over-reporting scales as well as classification accuracy analyses were conducted. The results support the use of the PICTS recommended cut-score for Cf-r, as it produced high specificity (> 0.90) and strong area under the curve (AUC) classification accuracy (AUC = 0.76, 95% CI = [0.67, 0.84]). The implications for this study are the discussions in terms of criminal-thinking evaluation.
... Mas recomendam duas medidas que podem melhorar as políticas de socioeducação. A primeira consiste em seguir o princípio da intervenção efetiva (Bonta & Andrews, 2016;Gendreau, 1996), que propõe que infratores de baixo risco não sejam submetidos a medidas no sistema de justiça, suscetíveis de gerarem os rótulos negativos mencionados. Para esses casos, sugere que se deva contar com programas alternativos, sempre de natureza comunitária, para evitar o processo de rotulação. ...
... The role of prison rehabilitation and its impact, if any, on criminal behavior has been vigorously studied. Since the "what works" era (Martinson, 1974), the pendulum for prison programming has continually swung back and forth between rehabilitative approaches (Andrews & Bonta, 2010;Gendreau, 1996) and strict criminal control (Carmichael & Kent, 2017). In line with a resurgence of interest on the prevalence of mental illness and substance use among incarcerated persons-in particular, potential treatment and diversion strategies (Forrester et al., 2018;Kubiak et al., 2020;Lurigio, 2019;Simpson & Jones, 2018)-current evidence-based practices in many correctional settings embrace various forms of rehabilitative programming to treat individual needs of correctional populations. ...
Correctional officers (COs) are vital to prison safety. While focused on security, some believe COs should also be trained to engage in the rehabilitation of incarcerated persons by offering motivation and support. This study examined incarcerated persons’ perceptions of COs working in a prison-based therapeutic community (TC). Data were gathered through qualitative interviews with individuals detained in a state correctional system for men. Findings revealed several themes related to incarcerated persons’ perceptions of COs’ knowledge toward treatment, their experiences and interactions with COs, and recommendations about how to improve the role of COs as therapeutic agents of change. Practical opportunities for implementing correctional research and practice using a positive criminology perspective are considered.
... Over the last few decades although "nothing works" ideology was been a major issue of discussion amongst practitioners and scholars alike. A considerable amount of literature has begun to reflect programs and interventions that have been found to reduce offender recidivism (Andrews & et.al, 1990;Gendreau, 1996;Lipsey & et.al, 1998;Sherman, & et.al, 1997). In effect, much of the research involved with offender rehabilitation has focused on the assessment of several domains that are intended to address the criminogenic needs of an offender. ...
The process of offenders transitioning from prison back to the community is in need of repair. This article discusses some of the more salient features that encompass the philosophy of "reentry." The concept of offender "reentry" is beginning to take the corrections world by storm a much overdue storm. Re-entry is the process of reentering the prisoners in to the society after the completion of certain period of incarceration in prison/jail. Reentry is not just 'let them go' to the society. It signifies that they were prepared to be released. It means that they were reformed much better than that of the time of admission to the prison. It suggests that their period of community supervision will contribute to their crime free lifestyle. INTRODUCTION:
... A fifth study limitation is our inability to examine potentially relevant post-release variables such as post-release programing that could influence the relationship between prison sanctions and recidivism (Gendreau, 1996). As such, the extant literature could benefit from future research that examines the influence of the timing of prison sanctions on recidivism while accounting for individuals post-release experiences. ...
A sample of 48,930 inmates was examined to estimate the direct and moderating effect of the timing of prison sanctions on recidivism. Logistic regression models demonstrated that number of sanctions was positively associated with recidivism but timing of an inmate’s last sanction before release did not significantly influence recidivism. However, timing of an inmate’s last sanction moderated the association between number of sanctions and recidivism. This moderation effect suggested that as time between an inmate’s last sanction and release from prison increased, the effect of the total number of sanctions on recidivism decreased in magnitude. The results of this assessment suggest that the number and timing of sanctions matter in explaining the relationship between prison sanctions and recidivism.
... In fact, research suggested that, when combined, these approaches led to reductions in recidivism by as much as 30% to 50% (Andrews & Bonta, 2010;Bonta & Andrews, 2017). In an effort to translate the research findings into useful practices, the results were eventually organized into what is now commonly referred to as the principles of effective intervention (Gendreau, 1996). ...
The importance of researcher-practitioner collaborations is at the core of Edward J. Latessa’s work. He has been at the forefront of this domain by creating and disseminating evidence-based tools and practices throughout his career. His work with agencies has undoubtedly changed the face of correctional practices in America and throughout the world. The current essay outlines the work that Ed did to propagate the “what works” movement by doing translational criminology work, and the lessons learned from him on the road.
... These are all issues that may be prevalent in other domains as well. Subsequently, it is still integral to utilize a holistic approach [36]. As explained previously, data markers were triangulated and validated from official police, court and correctional sources in addition to the self-reporting of offenders to measure re-arrest. ...
... The decline in convictions during the last 10 years of the follow-up period may have indicated that custody functioned as a positive turning point in their life-course (McCuish et al., 2018b). Addressing the rehabilitative needs of justiceinvolved persons has been one of the main goals of Canada's prison system (Gendreau, 1996). This has included the creation of the risk-needresponsivity (RNR) model (Bonta & Andrews, 2007) and the development of tools for maximizing custody-based treatment efficacy (Viljoen et al., 2019). ...
... SUSO is unique in that it holistically integrates a biadaptive model with other best practices in the literature-base, including the need to provide structured (Andrews et al., 1990;Morgan & Flora, 2002), intensive (Bourgon & Armstrong, 2005;Burdon, Messina, & Prendergast, 2004;Harland, 1995;Lipsey, 1989), and CBTinformed interventions (Andrews & Bonta, 2017;Gendreau, 1996;Harland, 1995) that use easy-to-follow treatment concepts and heuristics (Mills, Kroner, & Mongrain, 2005;Morgan, Kroner, & Mills, 2006). The notion of a biadaptive model (Morgan, Kroner, & Mills, 2018) focusing on both criminogenic and psychiatric risk has been supported by a meta-analysis on effective treatments for offenders with serious mental illness (Morgan, Flora, Kroner, Mills, Varghese, & Steffan, 2012) and early validation of an existing program tailored for offenders in less restrictive settings (e.g., in-custody general population, community supervision; Morgan, Kroner, Mills, Bauer, & Serna, 2014;Van Horn et al., 2019). ...
Research on the effects of restricted housing on inmate well-being indicates mild to moderate psychological effects and barriers opportunities for treatment and positive growth. Yet, there are few interventions tailored both to the needs of this high-risk population and to the institutional constraints of their environment. Given the financial and safety burdens associated with housing someone in segregation compared to the general population, correctional psychology should focus on developing programs that work. Using a prepost design, this study presents findings from a pilot investigation (N = 39) on the effects of a new, largely self-directed program (Stepping Up, Stepping Out [SUSO]) for inmates with mental and behavioral health concerns who are placed in restrictive settings. Results suggest that SUSO is associated with meaningful reductions in overall emotional distress and criminal attitudes; however, improvements in more stable criminal thinking patterns (i.e., distorted cognitions that are used to justify and support antisocial behavior; see Walters, 2012) were not observed. Overall, posttreatment working alliance was rated favorably by program participants. Demographic and preintervention comparisons between program completers and dropouts are also reported. Though preliminary findings suggest SUSO is a promising intervention for alleviating distress and aspects of criminal risk for inmates placed in restricted housing, future research should assess fidelity and engagement leading to a randomized controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of this program. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
... The first moral premise asserts that it is better for people to be in community with one another than not, whereas the second one states that community should be pursued wherever it is absent. The reintegration theory holds that prisons should be run as pre-release centres that engage the convicted prisoner in correctional programmes from the moment he enters prison to lead a law-abiding and useful life (Gendreau, 1996). ...
Correctional programmes are aimed at equipping offenders with survival life skills to enable them to be reintegrated into society upon release. However, a majority of released offenders continue to reoffend, questioning the efficacy of the Zimbabwe Prisons
Correctional programmes. This study, sought to investigate the effectiveness of correctional programmes implemented by ZPCS. Firstly, the study aimed to identify the correctional programmes practiced at the institution, secondly to determine factors that
affect the effectiveness of programmes, thirdly to investigate the factors that cause reoffending after having undergone such correctional programmes and finally to recommend ways of making the correctional program more effective to mitigate
reoffending. The research made use of a descriptive case study approach. Primary Data was gathered through the use of questionnaire and interviews. A total 24 reoffenders were invited to participate from a population of 96 reoffenders at the institution, 4 of whom were released inmates. The study established that correctional programmes are poorly implemented. The study also established that the programmes also fail because they take place in a living environment which is hostile, filled with negative and anti-social criminogenic behaviours and attitudes hence encouraging reoffending. The study also reveals that gaining employment after imprisonment is difficult as correctional programmes do not continue after imprisonment which makes it difficult for inmates to adjust to life after prison. The study therefore recommends that Zimbabwe Prisons And Correctional Services should collaborate with partners such as employment agencies to encourage them to employ ex inmates who would have gained vocational skills in prisons. The study also recommended the recruitment and training of qualified personal to carry out the various rehabilitative programs in prisons. Lastly, there is also need for the Government to allocate more funds to the Ministry to improve quality of services and infrastructure that enables offenders to rehabilitate in a less hostile environment that
encourages rehabilitation.
... The overarching model is not one of developing a specialization, it is one of developing expertise as a human in a given context. The individuals that led advances in understanding the process of how inmates change (Samenow, 1984;Walters, 1990), those who proposed models for organizing services (Fagan, 2003;Powitzky, 2003), or those who led criminal justice organizations in transformation (Gendreau, 1996;Hawk, 1997) did so effectively as generalists who practiced in correctional settings with inmates. They then used the expertise they gained to create systems change through their human expertise as a correctional psychologist. ...
Comments on an article by T. M. S. Neal (see record 2018-05574-001). Drawing out the distinctions and differences between forensic and correctional psychology, Neal (2018) provides a compelling overview of these separate but related subfields, yet the specialized postdoctoral training model described for forensic psychology is not necessary for the development of correctional psychologists. This comment elucidates 3 reasons why generalist training in an applied psychology setting provides a better model. The absence of an accumulated and advanced scientific base of specialized practice, the delivery of services to psychologically healthy and pathological populations, and the need for supervised practice in an applied setting are each described and point to a developmental model in which generalist skills in an applied setting are all suitable as an alternate to the specialization training model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
... First, although not a test of these hypotheses, we believe our findings fall in line with the arguments of the principles of effective intervention (see Andrews, 1995;Bonta & Andrews, 2016;Gendreau, 1996), which propose low-risk offenders should not be funneled through official justice system channels. There should be diversionary programs set up for these types of offenders so that they may be able to avoid the labeling process. ...
What impact does formal punishment have on antisocial conduct—does it deter or promote it? The findings from a long line of research on the labeling tradition indicate formal punishments have the opposite‐of‐intended consequence of promoting future misbehavior. In another body of work, the results show support for deterrence‐based hypotheses that punishment deters future misbehavior. So, which is it? We draw on a nationally representative sample of British adolescent twins from the Environmental Risk (E‐Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study to perform a robust test of the deterrence versus labeling question. We leverage a powerful research design in which twins can serve as the counterfactual for their co‐twin, thereby ruling out many sources of confounding that have likely impacted prior studies. The pattern of findings provides support for labeling theory, showing that contact with the justice system—through spending a night in jail/prison, being issued an anti‐social behaviour order (ASBO), or having an official record—promotes delinquency. We conclude by discussing the impact these findings may have on criminologists’ and practitioners’ perspective on the role of the juvenile justice system in society.
... Technology transfer relates to the process of implementing a newly developed program from the design phase to implementation and delivery, at first establishing and then maintaining the integrity of the intervention in question. Gendreau and colleagues (Gendreau, 1996;Gendreau et al., 1999Gendreau et al., , 2001 have discussed extensively the importance of technology transfer, and identified the general tendency of the literature to ignore this element. ...
Delivering offending behavior programs with integrity and quality is crucial for effectiveness. This chapter aims to revisit important key ideas around program integrity and reknit these in the context of a more recent perspective on program delivery. It proposes an integration and development of Hollin and Gendreau's contributions. The chapter combines ideas of intervention design and program implementation, and suggests that these can be influential on program integrity over time and repeated delivery. It incorporates contextual factors that influence (positively and negatively) the style, method, and quality of delivery. The chapter argues that all of these factors are central to achieving program integrity. Program context is a core feature of program integrity; that is, without the correct environmental conditions, program integrity will be compromised. Maintaining as broad a network as possible and attending to key shortfalls can assist in balancing and preventing the negative characteristics of compensatory behaviors.
... Over the past quarter century, a substantial amount of scientific literature, represented by a number of quantitative reviews and many qualitative reviews (Fletcher et al. 2012;South et al. 2016;Williams, May, and Wood 2008), illustrated that offender rehabilitation, if used appropriately, can lead to a significant reduction in recidivism (see Dowden and Andrews 1999;Gendreau 1996;Gendreau and Goggin 1996;Lösel 1995;Lösel 1996). Out of many aspects of offender rehabilitation programs, leisure and recreation have been recognized as important factors for improving behavioral outcomes (Andrews and Bonta 2006). ...
A growing body of literature explores how participation in programming in correctional institutions predicts inmate misconduct. Theory and extant research suggest that engagement in structured and prosocial activities promotes positive behavioral and emotional outcomes, while idleness has a negative impact on inmate behavior and well-being. However, the literature that examines these relationships is largely based on qualitative methodology, small samples, and prison population. Using data from the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, this study fills the gap in the literature by examining the associations between engagement in various activities in jail and inmate misconduct. This study also explores individual and jail-level factors that predict inmate engagement indifferent activities in jails. The results show that watching TV and working in jail are associated with lower misconduct, whereas recreation and reading are
associated with higher levels of several types of misconduct. The data also reveal that certain personal and institution-level factors predict the extent of engagement in formal and leisure activities.
Paul Edouard Gendreau (1940–), OC PhD, is a Canadian psychologist who has worked in corrections as an experimental scientist and clinician since the early 1960s. His contributions to correctional theory and practice have had a measurable impact on government policy, resulting in meaningful improvements to correctional systems throughout North America and around the world. Having held academic appointments in a number of universities, he has also played a seminal role in mentoring successive cohorts of students who have gone on to careers in correctional psychology.
What are termed the ‘collateral legal consequences’ (or CLCs) of criminal conviction have been defended in a variety of ways. The focus in this article is on efforts to justify the burdens and restrictions they involve as nonpenal measures designed to secure public safety. Zachary Hoskins' careful defense of such public‐safety CLCs is utilized as a point of departure. Although it is granted that such measures might be defensible, the many complications and problems of ensuring that they do not amount to further legal punishment and are kept within reasonable bounds are explored. I argue that the state is unlikely to deploy such public safety measures wisely and with sufficient restraint.
Background
Experiencing incarceration leads to increased rates of stress that result in a variety of negative physical, mental, and emotional outcomes. However, little research focuses on how individuals vary in their coping responses to stressful life events, like imprisonment.
Aims
This study extends prior research by examining whether changes in coping styles throughout the first year of incarceration influence mental health symptomology at 6- and 12-months post placement.
Methods
Using longitudinal data collected via semi-structured interviews with incarcerated men, this study measures changes in coping strategies and their effect on psychological well-being using the SCL-90-R. Ordinary least squares regression models were used to regress mental health symptomology on residual change scores of coping strategies.
Results
Changes in dysfunctional coping during the first 6- and 12-months of placement were associated with increased levels of adverse mental health symptoms. Changes in emotion- and problem-focused coping were not associated with mental health symptomology.
Conclusions
This research illustrates the need to continue exploration into individual responses to stressful events, such as initial incarceration, and suggests that prison systems should be designed in ways that decrease the need to adapt in dysfunctional ways, while providing opportunities for incarcerated people to cope in more productive ways.
The words that typify Ed Latessa are titan, trailblazer, and trustworthy. His career has been driven by a desire to change American corrections to intertwine research into routine practices. Ed’s work embraces the principles of evidence-based practices and treatments. His devotion to these principles, even in a political era that embraced mass incarceration policies and practices, has been transformative. Being a titan, Ed has led the charge to change the field by widely disseminating information about evidence-based practices and treatments and working directly with all agencies regardless of government level to promote research findings into practice. As a trailblazer, Ed has been at the forefront of the evidence-based corrections and paved the way for its implementation. And, Ed, being the honest agent, has used research findings to enlighten the field, even when the field was going in a different direction. Ed has helped the field learn how to integrate research findings into effective practices, including giving attention to rehabilitation. Ed is known for his honesty and willingness to use research findings to make his points. This essay outlines how Ed’s passion, perseverance, and transformative leadership style has guided the field with ease and commitment.
Offender rehabilitation programs incorporating positive psychology interventions such as a strengths-based model can be effective. This study explores the perceived model of service provided by an offender rehabilitation service and the perceived impact that this service has on the lives of its clients. A qualitative methodology was employed in the context of an action research design, using semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis which is an independent and reliable approach to qualitative analysis. The findings suggest that participants perceive the organization to be operating a strengths-based approach and this is perceived as having the potential to have a range of positive effects for clients. Some contrasting views were also identified within the participant groups and these are discussed in this paper. The results of this study complement the existing research and have several implications for future research in this area.
The study aims to investigate the rates of recidivism among prisoners on parole with a substance misuse disorder who participated in the Jerusalem halfway-house, which combines supervision, employment, and a comprehensive therapeutic program. The study population included all participants who have been treated in the halfway-house (N = 125), whereas the comparison group included all prisoners with a substance misuse disorder who were released after serving their full sentences (N = 321). To reduce possible selection biases, the Propensity Score Matching method was used. Findings show that prisoners, who were treated at the Jerusalem halfway-house, are characterized by higher and frequent rates of recidivism. However, when only completers of the halfway-house were evaluated, it was found that they had lower and slower rates of recidivism. Findings suggest that completing treatment contributes to desistance from crime in the critical post-release years among participants and indicates the importance of optimal diagnostic processes before admitting prisoners to a halfway-house.
L’auteure s’intéresse à l’interprétation jurisprudentielle de la « confiance du public dans l’administration de la justice ». Régulièrement invoquée par la Cour suprême du Canada à titre de considération sous-jacente en matière d’indépendance judiciaire, de publicité des débats et de célérité des procédures, la « confiance du public dans l’administration de la justice » tend à s’autonomiser pour devenir un critère décisionnel à part entière. L’auteure examine particulièrement deux cas de figure, soit le rejet d’une preuve suivant l’article 24 (2) de la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés ainsi que le maintien en détention avant procès d’un accusé selon l’article 515 (10) c) du Code criminel . À l’issue de son étude, l’auteure conclut que la nécessité de maintenir la confiance du public dans l’administration de la justice peut justifier des réformes législatives ou jurisprudentielles qui opèrent sur le plan systémique, mais qu’elle peut difficilement fonder une décision dans un cas d’espèce.
מטרת המחקר הנוכחי היא לבחון האם תכנית השיקום הקבוצתי הפועלת בשרות בתי הסוהר, ואשר נמצאה זה מכבר יעילה בהפחתת שיעורי הרצידיביזם, משפיעה באפו שווה על אסירים יהודים וערבים. בתכנית רב-ממדית זו, האסירים החיים במסגרת של קהילה טיפולית יוצאים לעבוד מחוץ לכתלי הכלא בשעות היום ועם חזרתם משתתפים בקבוצות טיפוליות שונות וכן עוברים טיפול פרטני.
הנתונים אודות האסירים נלקחו מ'צהר', המערכת של שירות בתי הסוהר והמידע אודותם כלל, בין היתר, נתונים על מצבם החברתי-כלכלי, ההיסטוריה הפלילית שלהם ועל מאפייני מאסרם. אפקט האינטראציה בין אתניות האסיר (יהודי או ערבי) ובין השתתפות / אי השתתפות בתכנית על רצידיביזם, נבחנה באמצעות ניתוחי הישרדות ורגרסיית קוקס (Cox).
ממצאי המחקר מעידים כי קיימים הבדלים סטטיסטיים מובהקים בין יהודים וערבים בשיעורי הרצידיביזם, כך שאסירים יהודים שהשתתפו בתוכנית נתרמו ממנה יותר מאסירים ערבים.
הבדלים בשפה ובתרבות עשויים להיות משמעותיים מאוד בתהליך הטיפולי והשיקומי שעוברים אסירים. על תוכניות טיפול להיות רגישות לצורכיהן השונים של קבוצות האוכלוסייה שלוקחות חלק בטיפול, ובמיוחד להיבטיהן התרבותיים. רגישות זו צריכה לשים דגש ייחודי על האתגרים והבעיות הייחודיים של קבוצות מיעוט המשתתפות בתוכנית. מעבר לרכיב הטיפולי, על קובעי מדיניות לקחת בחשבון את המכשולים התעסוקתיים שחווים אסירים השייכים לקבוצות מיעוט בתהליך חזרתם לחברה ולקהילה, זאת על מנת לסייע להם
In this chapter, suggestions are made on how to facilitate treatment integrity regarding treatment, therapists, offenders, and institutions. Strategies to assess integrity are discussed, followed by comments concerning the maintenance of treatment integrity. Finally, some conclusions and recommendations are presented.
Careful reading of the literature on the psychology of criminal conduct and of prior reviews of studies of treatment effects suggests that neither criminal sanctioning without provision of rehabilitative service nor servicing without reference to clinical principles of rehabilitation will succeed in reducing recidivism. What works, in our view, is the delivery of appropriate correctional service, and appropriate service reflects three psychological principles: (1) delivery of service to higher risk cases, (2) targeting of criminogenic needs, and (3) use of styles and modes of treatment (e.g., cognitive and behavioral) that are matched with client need and learning styles. These principles were applied to studies of juvenile and adult correctional treatment, which yielded 154 phi coefficients that summarized the magnitude and direction of the impact of treatment on recidivism. The effect of appropriate correctional service (mean phi = .30) was significantly (p
The Youth Center Research Project studied the effectiveness of two different treatment programs with 983 adjudicated delinquents assigned by random procedures to two institutions, one of whose programs was based on transactional analysis (O. H. Close School) and the other on the principles of behavior modification (Karl Holton School). The results summarized here suggest that institutions can be run so that most residents change for the better. Improvement on psychological measures favored the transactional analysis program; the behavior ratings slightly favored the behavioral program. Parole follow-up showed no differences in the revocation rates of the two programs, but subjects from both were doing significantly better than comparison groups of the same age assigned to other institutions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A quantitative analysis of 44 rigorously controlled offender treatment studies, published between 1970 and 1991, was undertaken to determine if the factors suggested by previous reviewers to be essential to program success are in fact related to efficacy. The results indicated that only six factors were significantly associated with the efficacy of programs. These factors included: (a) a sound conceptual model; (b) multifaceted programming; (c) the targeting of "criminogenic needs"; (d) the responsivity principle; (e) roleplaying and modeling; and (f) social cognitive skills training. The study raised several questions about the adequacy of research on offender rehabilitation and about the validity of many assertions that have been made about the essential characteristics of effective programs.
Antipersonality themes in mainstream criminology have been fueled for years by highly suspect moral, professional, and ideological concerns and by something less than a rational empirical approach. The research evidence regarding the importance of personality has been positive form the beginning but has been the focus of a highly rhetorical and pseudoscientific form of criticism. These efforts as knowledge destruction are reviewed and are found to be ideologically and professionally convenient but weakly grounded logically and empirically. The papaer concludes that a social theory of criminal conduct need not resist recognition of the importance of human diversity.
Antisocial behavior in children represents a serious and pervasive clinical problem. To date, progress in identifying effective treatments has been relatively slow. The purpose of the present article is to characterize the current status of treatment for antisocial child behavior, to identify promising approaches based on contemporary outcome research, and to note limitations and emergent methodological issues. A central purpose is to identify alternative models of treatment application and evaluation, including the high-strength intervention, amenability-to-treatment, broad-based treatment, and chronic-disease models. These models are designed to integrate findings regarding characteristics and prognosis of antisocial behavior with outcome research and to accelerate the identification and development of effective treatments.
A meta-analysis of 46 studies of intervention programs for juvenile delinquents revealed a significant difference between programs that included a cognitive component and those that did not. Cognitive programs were more than twice as effective as non-cognitive programs. These results are consistent with previous qualitative analyses and provide support for a cognitive model of offender rehabilitation.
Reviews 4 principles of classification for rehabilitation: risk, need, responsivity, and professional override in the context of basic research and theory in the psychology of criminal conduct. Risk, need, and responsivity considerations in the psychology of criminal conduct may better reflect knowledge and opinion regarding discretionary services for purposes of rehabilitation than does the discounting of knowledge so characteristic of major portions of mainstream criminology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Outlines a variety of useful roles for undergraduates in correctional services (e.g., researchers, therapists, and after-care workers). Selection, pretraining, and degree of supervision are described for each role. The administration of the program is outlined as well as benefits and issues surrounding the university and correctional liaison. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Contends that programs of social reform are not effectively assessed. This article is a preliminary effort in examining the sources of this condition and designing ways of overcoming the difficulties. The political setting of program evaluation is also considered. It is concluded that trapped and experimental administrators are not threatened by a hard-headed analysis of the reform. For such, proper administrative decisions can lay the base for useful experimental or quasi-experimental analyses. Through the ideology of allocating scarce resources by lottery, through the use of staged innovation, and through the pilot project, true experiments with randomly assigned control groups can be achieved. If the reform must be introduced across the board, the interrupted time-series design is available. If there are similar units under independent administration, a control series design adds strength. If a scarce boon must be given to the most needy or to the most deserving, quantifying this need or merit makes possible the regression discontinuity analysis." (48 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Many challenges face researchers, developers of innovative programs, and practitioners as they attempt to promote the spread of new clinical interventions. Traditional dissemination methods such as journal articles and conferences have many limits. Three examples of successful utilization are described concerning, respectively, the Behavior Analysis and Modification Project, the Teaching Family Model for group home treatment of deviant adolescents, and the Fairweather Hospital-Community Treatment Program (Lodge Program). Interpersonal contact between potential adopters and those knowledgeable about innovations, outside consultation on the adoption process, organizational support for innovation, persistent championship by agency staff, adaptability of the innovation, and availability of credible evidence of success were the six main factors that appeared to promote utilization in these three examples. These factors are consistent with findings from the larger literature on utilization, and most are relevant to adoption of innovations by individual psychotherapists as well.
Studies of the use of behavior modification techniques with delinquent youth are reviewed according to the type of behavior to be modified: educational, program, and delinquent behavior per se. While these investigations indicate an overall pattern of positive results, the definitiveness of the conclusions is restricted by methodological weaknesses. Issues regarding the relevance of this literature to the area of social policy decisions, and its impact on the various social systems that affect the lives of the youth who become labeled as delinquent, are discussed. (64 ref)
The present study provided an evaluation of a preliminary version of “Equipping Youth to Help One Another” [EQUIP; Gibbs and Potter, 1987; Gibbs et al., in press], a multi-component group treatment program for juvenile delinquents and other youths with antisocial conduct disorders. EQUIP assimilates the social skills training, anger management, and moral education components of Aggression Replacement Training [ART; Goldstein and Glick, 1987] into a modified Positive Peer Culture [PPC; Vorrath and Brendtro, 1985] group format. The subjects were 57 male juvenile offenders aged 15-18 who were incarcerated at a medium-security correctional facility. The subjects were randomly assigned either to the EQUIP experimental unit or to one of two control groups. EQUIP subjects relative to control subjects evidenced significant improvements in institutional conduct and recidivism rates, reflecting, to some extent, gains in social skills. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
This article reviews available evidence regarding the effectiveness of prevention and treatment programs to reduce juvenile delinquency. A broad range of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention programs are considered. The conclusions reached from this review are that interventions must be broadly based, extend over long time periods of development, and be assessed with fuller characterization of operational regularities.
There are two general questions to be asked about research evaluation reports of the kind presented in “Using Early Release to Relieve Prison Crowding.” The first is, “What are the specific findings and how adequate was the methodology by which they were obtained?” The second, larger query centers on the broader significance of the results. The latter question is concerned with the policy implications that ought to be drawn from the research. Although I want to touch upon both of these matters in this relatively brief commentary, it is to the second question that most of my remarks speak.
Recent trends toward a more punitive approach to juvenile crime have been heavily influenced by a body of review literature that reports that the traditional treatment approach is ineffective. The opinion that “nothing works” is largely based on reviews of the treatment literature. These reviews generally fail to document the amount of change associated with treatment. A meta-analysis of the primary research literature produced since 1960 was undertaken to assess the amount of change associated with various treatments of adjudicated delinquents. There were 111 studies identified that used a comparison group or pre-post design. Results indicated that treatment of adjudicated delinquents resulted in a positive change of .37 standard deviations. No consistent evidence on the relative efficacy of behavioral versus psychodynamic approaches was found. Recidivism was modestly reduced; institutional adjustment, psychological adjustment, and academic performance were all improved following treatment. The results of the meta-analysis suggest that treatment of adjudicated delinquents in an institutional or community residential setting does “work.”
Functional family therapy, based on Alexander's model for treating families of juvenile delinquents, was provided to 27 rural, lower socioeconomic status delinquents and their families. A comparison group of 27 delinquents received only probation service. Outcome during adulthood was measured by the number of offenses committed during a 32-month period following the 28-month adolescent follow-up period reported on by Gordon, Arbuthnot, Gustafson, and McGreen. The delinquents who had received family therapy showed a rate of 9% for adult criminal offenses, while those delinquents who had received only probation services had a rate of 41%. These results were consistent with the study's previously reported adolescent follow-up rates. Procedural differences between Alexander's work and the present approach are noted, and may account for the current study's lower rate of recidivism.
A review of the literature dealing with Sykes and Matza's theory of delinquency suggests that there is a need for a measure of their concept of neutralization that is both psychometrically sound and sensitive to the limited verbal skills of many delinquents. A neutralization scale was accordingly developed; evidence is offered to suggest that it is both reliable, in terms of internal consistency, and valid, in terms of (a) its relationship with other measures of a propensity toward delinquency, (b) its ability to differentiate between delinquents and nondelinquents, and (c) its ability to predict subsequent delinquency among incarcerated young offenders (both while institutionalized and during a 1-year postdischarge follow-up).
Over the past twenty years, a remarkable concentration of energy and talent has been devoted to finding and testing rehabilitation programs in corrections. Relatively ignored in this research has been the behavior of public officials who are responsible for implementing treatment policies. The present study attempts to examine the conditions under which the successful implementation of treatment programs is most likely to occur. Based on survey data, the study reveals that public officials demonstrate little opposition to the rehabilitative ideal. However, contemporary research also indicates that the complexity of correctional bureaucracy foreshadows the effort to cure criminal offenders. Therefore, an alternative implementation strategy is suggested for modern-day professionals who are seriously dedicated to rehabilitation. Finally, personal implications of the alternative model are discussed.
Recent years have seen a revivification of correctional treatment. Meta-analysis has played an important role in this trend. However, the discussion on these results has been just as controversial as the reviews on the “nothing works” debate 20 years ago. This controversy is due to a mixing up of facts and values. The present paper should contribute to the consensus on facts. First, it reports on an update of a meta-analysis on the treatment of adult offenders in German social-therapeutic prisons. This is followed by an overview of North American meta-analyses that have concentrated mostly on programs with juveniles. The outcomes show fairly consistent but low overall effects. Most meta-analyses also tend to agree on differential effects (e.g., modes of treatment, design characteristics, settings). Nonetheless, there are still major deficits in evaluation research. Finally, future perspectives of the revived discussion on offender rehabilitation are discussed.
We reviewed the offender rehabilitation literature for the period 1981–87 and assessed the following types of interventions: biomedical, diversion, early/family intervention, education, getting tough, individual differences, parole/probation, restitution, and work. We evaluated treatments applied to specific subgroups of offender populations: sexual offenders, substance abusers, and violent offenders. The hypothesis that the “nothing works” credo has had a pervasive influence and has suppressed the rehabilitative agenda was not borne out when we examined the number and variety of successfully reported attempts at reducing delinquent behavior. In fact, the rehabilitative literature is growing at a noticeable rate; moreover, it suggests several strategies for developing more effective programs. Finally, we speculated why the “nothing works” doctrine continues to receive support in spite of empirical evidence to the contrary.
Past reviews of the treatment of juvenile offenders have concluded that “nothing works.” More recently, some reviewers have concluded that treatment concepts are not necessarily ineffective, but, instead, research methodology and treatment integrity have been inadequate. The present review looks at the treatment of adjudicated juvenile offenders from a computer-data-based search of the literature published from 1980 to 1987. Research outcome and methodology are summarized and critiqued. The conclusions are that treatment outcomes were positive, but that serious methodological weaknesses still exist in the literature. Improvements still need to be made in sample sizes, use of appropriate and multiple measures of recidivism, random assignment and/or use of appropriate control groups, and long-term follow-up assessment.
Debate over the effectiveness of correctional treatment has been raging for over a decade. The view that “nothing works” dominates in the mind of the public and relies on many early reviews of the literature for support. The most contemporary approach to analyzing the state of the evidence on correctional treatment is the use of meta-analysis. Meta-analysis is a technique that reanalyzes data found in original research reports and arrives at a common measure for all of the studies. The present analysis of research reports published from 1975 to 1984 does not provide encouraging results. The results show that interventions have little positive impact on recidivism and many appear to exacerbate the problem. Indeed, the analysis in this article could be considered overly lenient in its interpretation of the results. It appears that the earlier evaluations that claim that “nothing works” are close to the conclusion to be drawn from more recent evaluations of juvenile treatments.
This paper presents recent evidence, obtained from a review of the liter ature on correctional treatment published since 1973, appealing the ver dict that correctional rehabilitation is ineffective. Questions are raised about the quality of the research that led to the conclusion that "nothing works." Recent research on family intervention, contingency man agement, counseling, diversion, and biomedical techniques is discussed, as is the efficacy of treatment of such problems as alcoholism, drug addic tion, and sexual deviations. It is concluded that there are several types of intervention programs that have proved successful with offender popu lations. These intervention programs illustrate pointedly why there have been so many failures reported in correctional treatment.
An examination of the bases of two influential sets of publications suggests that their conclusions regarding the effectiveness of treatment with sex offenders were unnecessarily gloomy. The present article presents a more optimistic view of the literature, asserting that recent, relatively well-controlled evaluations have shown that treatment can be effective. To be maximally effective, according to this appraisal of the literature, treatment must be comprehensive, cognitive-behaviorally based, and include a relapse prevention component. Earlier outcome research that produced either treatment failure, or at best equivocal results, did not meet these criteria.
Economic problems as well as misinterpretations of the so-called justice model are resulting in the replacement of professional personnel in some correctional systems. The author explains why and how in this article. (Author/HMV)
Thc recent drug use epidemic has led to a significant increase in the number of incarcerated drug-involved inmates throughout the country and has challenged jail and prison administrators to develop programs to reduce drug relapse and drug-related crime. In response to increasing problems of drug dependence among jail inmates, the US. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in 1987 funded development of three model demonstration jail substance abuse treatment programs. The current study reviews findings from an evaluation of 535 inmates admitted to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Substance Abuse Treatment Program, in Tampa, Florida from 1988 to 1991. Evaluation findings indicate that over a one-year period following release from custody, inmates participating in the six-week jail treatment program remained significantly longer in the community until rearrest, experienced fewer arrests, and served less jail time in comparison to a group of untreated inmates. Significant improvements were also observed in program participants' abilities to use coping skills to effectively respond to high risk situations for drug relapse, in acquisition of knowledge regarding relapse prevention and recovely principles, and in self-confidence in dealing with high risk situations. Implications for development of jail substance abuse treatment programs and for further research are discussed.
This paper offers an overview of behavioural and cognitive-behavioural approaches to working with young offenders. The literature is considered in terms of individualised programmes and residential and community programmes. Despite the range and numbers of these and other studies, until recently there was no clear picture of the effectiveness of treatment programmes with young offenders. The development of the statistical technique of meta-analysis, however, now allows the effective components of treatment programmes to be identified with some degree of confidence. A summary of the findings of the most recent meta-analyses is given. Finally, suggestions are offered both to identify and to overcome barriers to successful programme design and effectiveness.
we will be describing studies that were carried out more than a decade ago but still represent the best examples of research into the efficacy of institutional treatment for juvenile delinquents
does anything work / what can be expected to work / what is institutional treatment / experiments in institutional treatment / an overview of treatment effectiveness / component analysis: order out of chaos (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Meta-analytic techniques were used to determine which predictor domains and actuarial assessment instruments were the best predictors of adult offender recidivism. One hundred and thirty-one studies produced 1,141 correlations with recidivism. The strongest predictor domains were criminogenic needs, criminal history/history of antisocial behavior, social achievement, age/gender/race, and family factors. Less robust predictors included intellectual functioning, personal distress factors, and socioeconomic status in the family of origin. Dynamic predictor domains performed at least as well as the static domains. The LSI-R was identified as the most useful actuarial measure. Recommendations for developing sound assessment practices in corrections are provided.
This paper presents a general strain theory of crime and delinquency that is capable of overcoming the criticisms of previous strain theories. In the first section, strain theory is distinguished from social control and differential association/social learning theory. In the second section, the three major types of strain are described: (1) strain as the actual or anticipated failure to achieve positively valued goals, (2) strain as the actual or anticipated removal of positively valued stimuli, and (3) strain as the actual or anticipated presentation of negatively valued stimuli. In the third section, guidelines for the measurement of strain are presented. And in the fourth section, the major adaptations to strain are described, and those factors influencing the choice of delinquent versus nondelinquent adaptations are discussed.
In a randomized clinical trial, multisystemic family preservation was shown to significantly reduce rates of criminal activity and incarceration in a sample of 84 serious juvenile offenders and their multi-need families. In the current study, archival records were searched for re-arrest an average of 2.4 years post-referral. Survival analysis showed that youths who received multisystemic family preservation were less likely to be re-arrested than were youths who had received usual services. Such results represent the first controlled demonstration that family preservation, when delivered via a clearly specified treatment model, has lasting effects with serious juvenile offenders. Implications for family preservation and juvenile justice research are discussed.
Recent research on intelligence and delinquency suggests that (1) the relation is at least as strong as the relation of either class or race to official delinquency; (2) the relation is stronger than the relation of either class or race to self-reported delinquency. In an analysis of the history of the research on the IQ-delinquency relation, we trace the developments leading to the current textbook position that IQ is not an important factor in delinquency. This position, which came into vogue about forty years ago and is still held by many sociologists, has its roots in: (1) a medical to sociological paradigm shift in this century; (2) the failure of subsequent research to substantiate the early exorbitant claims that low IQ was a necessary and sufficient condition for illegal behavior; (3) early negative reviews of research on this question by Sutherland and others; (4) reservations about the validity of the measurement of both IQ and delinquency; (5) erroneous interpretation of research findings; (6) speculation regarding factors which might account for the relation. It is noted that many currently prominent sociological theories of delinquency implicitly or explicitly use IQ as a crucial theoretical element. We show that IQ has an effect on delinquency independent of class and race, and we argue that this effect is mediated through a host of school variables.
The Youth Center Research Project studied the effectiveness of two different treatment programs with 983 adjudicated delinquents assigned by random procedures to two institutions, one of whose programs was based on transactional analysis (O.H. Close School) and the other on the principles of behavior modification (Karl Holton School). The results summarized here suggest that institutions can be run so that most residents change for the better. Improvement on psychological measures favored the transactional analysis program; the behavior ratings slightly favored the behavioral program. Parole followup showed no differences in the revocation rates of the two programs, but subjects from both were doing significantly better than comparison groups of the same age assigned to other institutions.
Some persons in the fields of substance abuse and corrections still believe that prison-based rehabilitation is ineffective and that treatment efforts should be reserved for the nonprison community. While correctional institutions are generally hostile environments that impede attempts at both treatment and research, both can be accomplished successfully, even though it is highly difficult to maintain the integrity of treatment programs and research studies within correctional facilities. This study reports treatment findings for the Stay'n Out therapeutic community (TC), which has operated in the New York State correctional system for over 12 years. This is the first large-scale study (N = 1,500) that provides convincing evidence that prison-based TC treatment can produce significant reductions in recidivism rates for males and females.
Psychotic disorders may be concealed behind outer manifestations that give little or no suggestion of anything so serious. The traditional psychiatric criteria for diagnosis and classification are seldom helpful and often misleading in such instances. The seriousness of the masked disorder is often overlooked because peripheral functioning and outer appearance simulate so well all that is demanded by current definitions of sanity.
- Eysenck, H. J.
- Palmer, T.