NCJ Number
209128
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 40 Issue: 1/2 Dated: 2004 Pages: 85-103
Date Published
2004
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study evaluated primary and secondary outcomes of the Reasoning and Rehabilitation (R&R) program among male offenders in Swedish prisons.
Abstract
The R&R program is a social learning program that seeks to teach participants problem solving skills, social skills, emotion management, creative thinking, value analysis, and critical thinking skills in an effort to reduce recidivism among offenders. The program is currently offered through prison and probation services in Canada, the United Kingdom, several United States jurisdictions, New Zealand, Spain, and many other countries. Participants were 372 male Swedish prisoners who were enrolled in the R&R program; short-term outcome measures were evaluated though several psychological instruments, including the Sense of Coherence scale, the Impulsiveness, Venturesomeness and Empathy Questionnaire, and the Criminal Sentiments Scale. Long-term outcomes were evaluated via comparison of reconviction rates for program completers, dropouts, and control subjects. Results indicated that the R&R program was effective at reducing recidivism rates among program completers by 25 percent over a 3-year period and was effective at changing psychological measures of coherence, impulsiveness, attitudes toward the law, and tolerance for crime in the short-term. Interestingly, program dropouts and younger and more criminally active R&R participants showed a 38-percent increase in recidivism risk compared to the control group. The findings suggest that the R&R program can be effective at reducing pro-criminal attitudes and recidivism among program completers. The participants who experienced an increase in recidivism risk appear to need more intensive and longer-term interventions. Tables, figure, references