Leisure Services - An Essential Aspect of Offender Rehabilitation (From Holistic Approaches to Offender Rehabilitation, P 324-345, 1982, Leonard J Hippchen, ed. - See NCJ-85681)

• NCJ Number: 85695
• Author(s): R P Reynolds
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 22 pages
• Sale Source: Charles C. Thomas
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

An offender's leisure lifestyle is a critical element in understanding the factors that precipitate and sustain antisocial acts, so leisure activities can be a vital tool for altering deviant behavior and engendering optimal levels of functioning.

Abstract

If leisure services are included in a total rehabilitative effort, the leisure behavior and needs of each offender should be assessed and the information translated into effective individualized programs amenable to continuous evaluation and modification. The emphasis of leisure service programs should be on helping the offender alter his/her attitudes and total pattern of leisure behavior in preparation for release. Activities related to the leisure program should include individual and group leisure counseling, homemaking, cultural activities, supportive family recreation services, skill sessions that emphasize activity performance rather than proficiency, and field trips to familiarize inmates with community recreation resources. Community recreation resources should be used extensively for selected inmates. The majority of leisure activities should be voluntary for the inmate and be offered in small groups to maximize individual involvement. Leisure service personnel should design and implement controlled field studies and experiments that use pre/post test dependent measures which assess the isolated and combined effects of various leisure services in the total rehabilitative program of the offender. Thirty-one references are listed.