When facilitating group art therapy for young adult male inmates in prison, response art helped an art therapist to build therapeutic bonds and maintain self-care. Both artmaking in-session and post-session enabled the art therapist to traverse relational distance, nurture trust, and create social bonds in the group. By reflecting on her response…

Criminals allegedly use effective novelty to intentionally exploit and harm others (creative fraud, theft, and murder). However, empirical evidence that criminals possess higher malevolent creativity than individuals without criminal backgrounds is lacking. We compared a male sample of prisoners in a maximum-security penitentiary (n = 140), police…

The purpose of the present qualitative study of formerly incarcerated Black male students' is a heartfelt look into the lives of Black men navigating the U.S. criminal justice system using their resilience following participation in a prison-based education program. Drawing on a strength-based lens versus a deficit-based lens was a focus on…

The purpose of this study was to better understand the effects of punitive discipline policies on previously incarcerated African American males who recidivate after receiving therapeutic services (Nance, 2016). Examining the effects of these policies may provide insights into ways that school leaders may create policies that help create positive…

Background: Clients with attachment issues are over-represented in learning disability services. Forensic inpatient services are no exception. Treatment pathways comprise multidisciplinary interventions, and skills-based treatments are considered vital to recovery and maintenance of prosocial and adaptive behaviour and reduction in risk. An…

This study investigated the specific emotional lexicons in narratives created by persons diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) to test the hypothesis that individuals with ASPD exhibit deficiencies in emotional language. Study participants consisted of 60 prison inmates with ASPD, 40 prison inmates without ASPD, and 60 men without…

The reliability, validity, and utility of the Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (ASIQ), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS), and Reasons for Attempting Suicide Questionnaire (RASQ) with correctional mental health populations was evaluated. Evidence was found indicating good to excellent reliability for all…

The purpose of this study was to examine how victims of sexual abuse in a community corrections population differ as a result of their sex and race. Of the 19,422 participants, a total of 1,298 (6.7%) reported a history of sexual abuse and were compared with nonabused participants. The sample was analyzed by race-gender groups (White men, White…

Little is known about the patterns of sexual victimization inside prisons and their relationship to inmates' feelings of safety. This study examined patterns of sexual victimization with and without co-occurring physical victimization and feelings of safety as reported by 6,964 male and 564 female inmates. Respondents completed a computerized…

A key component of Mode Deactivation Therapy (MDT) is the development of self-awareness and regulatory skills by the client with the aim of helping adolescent males with conduct disordered behaviors, including sexually inappropriate behaviors and emotional dysregulation. The goal includes altering specific behaviors to fall within socially…

Finding brief effective treatments for criminal justice populations is a major public need. The CJ-DATS Targeted Intervention for Corrections (TIC), which consists of six brief interventions (communication, anger, motivation, criminal thinking, social networks, and HIV/sexual health), was tested in separate federally-funded randomized control…

There is a dearth of knowledge about those who sexually abuse children while working in organizations. Here, we adopt a case study approach to examine this problem. We focus on eight adult males who had been imprisoned for abusing a total of 35 children while working in educational and voluntary settings. We provide a detailed account of abusers'…

There is broad consensus that the strains of imprisonment and unsupported release affect offenders' mental health and operate to the detriment of their chances of successful reintegration. Drawing on data from 208 male inmates, the authors examine the mediating and moderating influences of social support on the links between inmates' perceptions…

The purpose of these two experiments was to compare well-being measurements between a group of prison inmates singing in a choir and prison inmates not singing in a choir. Using the Friedman Well-Being Scale (FWBS) as the dependent measure, measurements were taken before and after performances of two prison-based choirs: (a) an inmate only choir…

The educational experience for an inmate is part of an ethos of personal restriction. Within the social and physical restriction of prison, the research assessed the extent to which andragogical treatment could influence inmate mood and behavior in the classroom. The need to improve inmate readiness for the Federal Bureau of Prisons mandatory GED…