Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The current study examines how academic achievement—measured as verbal and math performance—is associated with prison programming and reentry. We assess how academic achievement might be directly associated with recidivism and whether this occurs indirectly by moderating the effectiveness of in-prison programs. Using a statewide subsample of incarcerated individuals (N = 13,536), the results illustrated that academic achievement directly and indirectly affected the likelihood of recidivism. Lower academic achievement was associated with a higher likelihood of recidivism immediately upon reentry, but was also linked to greater effectiveness of prison programs aimed at reducing recidivism. The reduction in the likelihood of reincarceration associated with program participation was greater for individuals with lower academic achievement compared with those with higher academic achievement. The results underscore how individual differences can lead to heterogeneous outcomes and emphasize the need to target those individuals most likely to struggle with the practical barriers of reentry.

Keywords

incarceration academic achievement recidivism inequality rehabilitation

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Andrews

D. A.

Bonta

(2010). The psychology of criminal conduct. Matthew Bender.

Blumstein

Larson

R. C.

(1971). Problems in modeling and measuring recidivism. Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency, 8, 124–132.

Bridges

G. S.

Steen

(1998). Racial disparities in official assessments of juvenile offenders: Attributional stereotypes as mediating mechanisms. American Sociological Review, 63, 554–570.

Bronson

Maruschak

L. M.

Berzofsky

(2015). Disabilities among prison and jail inmates, 2011–12. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.

Butler

H. D.

Steiner

. (2017). Examining the use of disciplinary segregation within and across prisons. Justice Quarterly, 34(2), 248–271.

Carroll

J. B.

(1993). Human cognitive abilities: A survey of factor-analytic studies. Cambridge University Press.

Cobbina

J. E.

Huebner

B. M.

Berg

M. T.

(2012). Men, women, and postrelease offending: An examination of the nature of the link between relational ties and recidivism. Crime & Delinquency, 58, 331–361.

Cochran

J. C.

Mears

D. P.

(2017). The path of least desistance: Inmate compliance and recidivism. Justice Quarterly, 34(3), 431–458.

Cochran

J. C.

Mears

D. P.

Bales

W. D.

Stewart

E. A.

(2016). Spatial distance, community disadvantage, and racial and ethnic variation in prison inmate access to social ties. Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency, 53, 220–254.

10.

Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems. (2008). CASAS content standards for reading and mathematics, and common core state standards for reading, language, and mathematics: A comparative analysis. National Reports and Articles.

11.

Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (2012). CASAS content standards for reading and mathematics, and common core state standards for reading, language, and mathematics: A comparative analysis. National Reports and Articles.

12.

Cottle

C. C.

Lee

R. J.

Heilbrun

(2001). The prediction of criminal recidivism in juveniles: A meta-analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 28, 367–394.

13.

Diamond

Morris

R. G.

Barnes

J. C.

(2012). Individual and group IQ predict inmate violence. Intelligence, 40, 115–122.

14.

Fazel

Wolf

(2015). A systematic review of criminal recidivism rates worldwide: Current difficulties and recommendations for best practice. PLOS ONE, 10, Article e0130390.

15.

Guo

Fraser

M. W.

(2014). Propensity score analysis (Vol. 12). SAGE.

16.

Harcourt

B. E

. (2015). Risk as a proxy for race: The dangers of risk assessment. Federal Sentencing Report, 27, 237–244.

17.

Harkins

Beech

A. R.

(2007). A review of the factors that can influence the effectiveness of sexual offender treatment: Risk, need, responsivity, and process issues. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 12, 615–627.

18.

Heckman

J. J.

Stixrud

Urzua

(2006). The effects of cognitive and noncognitive abilities on labor market outcomes and social behavior. Journal of Labor Economics, 24, 411–482.

19.

Hirschi

Hindelang

M. J.

(1977). Intelligence and delinquency: A revisionist review. American Sociological Review, 42, 571–587.

20.

Jackson

D. B.

(2017). The interplay between early language and temperamental difficulties in the prediction of severe antisocial behavior among males. Journal of Criminal Psychology, 7, 70–80.

21.

Karim

Bibi

Rehman

S. U.

Khan

M. S.

(2015). Emotional intelligence and perceived work-related outcomes: Mediating role of workplace incivility victimization. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, 30, 21–37.

22.

Latessa

Lugo

Pompoco

Sullivan

Wooldredge

(2015). Evaluation of Ohio’s prison programs. Center for Crime Justice Research, University of Cincinnati.

23.

Latessa

E. J.

Lowenkamp

(2005). What works in reducing recidivism. University of St. Thomas Law Journal, 3, 521–535.

24.

Lipsey

M. W.

Cullen

F. T.

(2007). The effectiveness of correctional rehabilitation: A review of systematic reviews. Annual Review of Law, Sociology, and Science, 3, 297–320.

25.

Lipsey

M. W.

Landenberger

N. A.

Wilson

S. J.

(2007). Effects of cognitive-behavioral programs for criminal offenders. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 6, 1–27.

26.

Lugo

Wooldredge

Pompoco

Sullivan

Latessa

E. J.

(2017). Assessing the impact of unit management programs on institutional misconduct and prison “returns.” Justice Quarterly, 36, 59–92. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2017.1357741

27.

Markman

J. A.

Durose

M. R.

Rantala

R. R.

Tiedt

A. D.

(2016). Recidivism of offenders placed on federal community supervision in 2005: Patterns from 2005 to 2010. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.

28.

Mears

D. P.

Cochran

J. C.

(2013). What is the effect of IQ on offending? Criminal Justice and Behavior, 40, 1280–1300.

29.

Mears

D. P.

Cochran

J. C.

(2015). Prisoner reentry in the era of mass incarceration. SAGE.

30.

Mears

D. P.

Wang

Hay

Bales

W. D.

(2008). Social ecology and recidivism: Implications for prisoner reentry. Criminology, 46, 301–340.

31.

Petersilia

(2005). Hard time: Ex-offenders returning home after prison. Corrections Today, 67, 66–71.

32.

Pompoco

Wooldredge

Lugo

Sullivan

Latessa

E. J.

(2017). Reducing misconduct and prison returns with facility education programs. Criminology and Public Policy, 16, 515–547.

33.

Richie

(2001). Challenges incarcerated women face as they return to their communities: Findings from life history interviews. Crime & Delinquency, 47, 368–389.

34.

Silver

I. A.

Nedelec

J. L.

(2018). Ensnarement during imprisonment: Re-conceptualizing theoretically driven policies to address the association between within-prison sanctioning and recidivism. Criminology & Public Policy, 17, 1005–1035.

35.

Silver

I. A.

Nedelec

J. L.

Pompoco

(2018). Specific responsivity: An assessment of the effect of verbal and math cognitive abilities on the completion of prison programs. Corrections: Policy, Practice, Research, 5, 130–148.

36.

Toman

E. L.

(2017). Female incarceration and prison social order: An examination of gender differences in prison misconduct and in-prison punishments.

37.

Travis

(2005). But they all come back: Facing the challenges of prisoner reentry. The Urban Institute Press.

38.

Visher

C. A.

Travis

(2003). Transitions from prison to community: Understanding individual pathways. Annual Review of Sociology, 29, 89–113.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.31 MB

Academic Achievement and the Implications for Prison Program Effectiveness and Reentry

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References

Supplementary Material