Motivating adolescents to read can be a challenge, but motivating incarcerated adolescents to read may be even more of a challenge. Developing readers in residential facilities are often overlooked by traditional classroom teachers, but much can be learned from incarcerated youth and their motivation and engagement. Unfortunately, there is a…

The purpose of this quantitative, pretest-posttest causal-comparative with control condition study was to examine if there was a difference in misconduct, as measured by reduction in occurrences of disciplinary infractions while incarcerated. General strain theory of criminal behavior provided the theoretical context for this study. The Arizona…

Aim: The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of recreational activities on the self-esteem and loneliness level of prisoners as an alternative education. Method: The sample of this research consisted of 23 female prisoners who were randomly selected in Kandira prison and detention house. As preliminary and final tests, these…

Purpose: The purposes of this study were first to identify and describe transition to adulthood pathways of youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) in regards to the timing and order of transition to adulthood task completion (e.g. completing education, gaining employment, living independently, marrying/close personal relationship, and…

How and why do many serious adolescent offenders stop offending while others continue to commit crimes? The Pathways to Desistance study, a multidisciplinary investigation that attempts to answer this question, followed more than 1,300 serious juvenile offenders for 7 years after their conviction. In this bulletin, the authors investigate the link…

The following study is an evaluation of the Moderate Intensity Family Violence Prevention Program (MIFVPP). The sample consisted of 298 male federal offenders who participated in the MIFVPP while incarcerated or on release within the community. Participants were assessed pre-, mid-, and postprogram using an assessment battery consisting of…

Although abundant research is available on the correlates of school effectiveness in traditional settings, how they relate to short-term juvenile hall schools (JHS) remain poorly understood. The present qualitative study employed a case study methodology to determine what correlates of effective schools are evident, and their strength of presence,…

As higher numbers of individuals are released from prison and rejoin society, reentry programs can help former offenders reintegrate into society without continuing to engage in crime. This quasi-experimental study examined whether participation in reentry programming was associated with reduced recidivism among offenders who were no longer under…

Studies that compare recidivism rates between parolees and unconditionally released inmates typically attach these statuses upon release, and then follow these groups until they either fail or meet the censor date. However, this method of identifying former inmates as parolees does not comport with how parolees are conceptualized by the agencies…

The reduction of recidivism is an ongoing problem in the U.S. correctional system. There is preliminary evidence that supports the use of parenting programs to reduce recidivism, yet further validation is needed. The purpose of this study was two fold. The first phase of this sequential, explanatory, mixed methods research was to determine the…

This study explored the association between personal and social characteristics of incarcerated juvenile offenders and youth-staff relationship types. Employing the three relationship categories identified in a typology by Marsh and Evans (2009), multinomial logistic regression indicated that youth reporting higher levels of social support and…

Youth who have low literacy skills generally face significant barriers to economic and social success and are more likely to be involved in the juvenile justice system. In addition, if these youth are incarcerated and their literacy skills are not improved, outcomes tend to be negative. This issue brief illustrates the correlation between low…

This case study of the Therapeutic Community Program at Montana Women's Prison investigates the relationship between inmate reading levels and the self-help materials used for rehabilitative purposes within prison settings. The Therapeutic Community Handbook, published by the Montana Department of Corrections, is used as the primary method of…

Using data from the nationally representative Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), the relationships between living in a household where a household member had been arrested or incarcerated and conduct problems of preschool children enrolled in Head Start were examined. Children who lived in such households showed more…

The research presented in this report examines the effect of prison-based postsecondary education (PSE) on offenders both while incarcerated and after release. Urban Institute researchers worked with the staff of four institutions in three states to conduct inmate focus groups and stakeholder interviews to explore the motivations for enrolling in…