Objective: The present study describes the development of the Indiana Prison Writers Workshop (IPWW), a creative writing workshop, based in group theory and designed for incarcerated settings. Methods: Quantitative evaluation data from IPWW workshops conducted from 2023-2024 were analyzed using IBM SPSS V. 29. Prior to the workshop, 149 men…

This study examines the effect of increasing literacy skills during incarceration to improve adult inmate behavior, defined as a reduction in disciplinary reports received by participants. Male offenders, 18 years or older, housed in the Iowa Department of Corrections between July 1, 2017-June 30, 2019 who completed two or more TABE Reading…

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 paper describes a fathering program that has been operating for a number of years for Aboriginal men in the corrective system. The discussion groups focus on how the men see their role as fathers whilst in jail. The discussions examine ways of changing and developing new skills for them on release. The basis of the program is that just…

Objective: Despite a large evidence base indicating that cognitive skills programs can reduce reoffending in individuals without mental illness, there have been no randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine their effectiveness in mentally disordered offenders (MDOs). In the first RCT of a cognitive skills program for MDOs, we aimed to…

The United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population, but more than 23 percent of the world's incarcerated people, putting the U.S. first among all nations. This high rate of incarceration represents costs both for taxpayers and for the communities affected by the many lives interrupted by prison sentences. Race/ethnicity is an…

This article investigates the role of the arts in enabling prisoners to engage with learning and improve their literacy, and the impact this has on their rehabilitation and desistance from crime. It draws on data collected from prisoners who participated in arts interventions in three different Scottish prisons. It argues that participating in the…