Predicting Criminal Recidivism Following Drug Court: Implications for Drug Court Practice and Policy Advocacy

This study evaluated a drug court located in Texas. Participants that had a violation within the first 30 days of drug court, and terminated participants were most likely to recidivate. Implications for drug court practice and policy advocacy are discussed.     

The Citizenship Project Part II: Impact of a Citizenship Intervention on Clinical and Community Outcomes for Persons with Mental Illness and Criminal Justice Involvement

This study assessed the effectiveness of an intervention based on a theoretical framework of citizenship on reducing psychiatric symptoms, alcohol use, and drug use, and increasing quality of life for persons with serious mental illness (SMI) and criminal justice involvement. One-hundred fourteen adults with SMI and a history of criminal justice involvement participated in a 2 × 3 longitudinal randomized controlled trial of a four-month citizenship intervention versus usual services. Linear mixed model analyses were used to assess the intervention’s impact on quality of life, symptoms, and substance use. After controlling for baseline covariates, participants in the experimental condition reported significantly increased quality of life, greater satisfaction with and amount of activity, higher satisfaction with work, and reduced alcohol and drug use over time. However, individuals in the experimental condition also reported increased anxiety/depression and agitation at 6 months (but not 12 months) and significantly increased negative symptoms at 12 months. Findings suggest that community-oriented, citizenship interventions for persons with SMI and criminal justice histories may facilitate improved clinical and community outcomes in some domains, but some negative clinical findings suggest the need for post-intervention support for intervention participants. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

An Evaluation of the Reliability and Validity of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) in South African Context

The Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ: Loza, 2005) is a self-report questionnaire designed to assist with the prediction of violent and nonviolent recidivism among correctional populations. Use of scale could help in the assessment of risk and the identification of factors that could be addressed by programming or other intervention to reduce recidivism risk. Evidence for use of the SAQ in South African settings is needed. The SAQ was administered at two separate occasions and a week apart to a total of 125 male offenders in South Africa to evaluate its psychometric properties. Scores from the SAQ were reliable with South African inmates.     

Factors Related to Recidivism Among Delinquent Youths in a State Correctional Facility

Identifying and remediating variables accounting for recidivism has been a persistent and often controversial challenge. We investigated factors that may be related to recidivism among delinquent youths committed to a state correctional facility. Data were collected by examining the records of 147 recidivists and 147 non-recidivists. Our findings are consistent with previous research showing age of first offense and first commitment differentiated recidivists and non-recidivists. Additional discriminant factors included deficits in basic skills, special education background, gang affiliation, and length of stay at the facility.     

The Impact of Criminal Record Stigma on Quality of Life: A Test of Theoretical Pathways

Across multiple stigmatized groups, research suggests that stigma may negatively impact individual wellbeing. This impact often occurs through a sequential pathway that includes perceiving societal stigma, a diminished and stereotyped self‐concept (i.e., internalized stigma), experiences of discrimination and rejection, and attempts to cope with stigma (e.g., secrecy or withdrawal). While prior research supports individual links within this pathway, no study has evaluated a model representing the relationships between all of these factors in relation to criminal record stigma. This study utilized cross‐sectional data from an online survey of 198 adults to test the pathways through which criminal record‐related stigma impacts individual quality of life. The results indicated that perceived stigma was a significant predictor of discrimination and rejection experiences, secrecy coping strategies, and decreased quality of life. There was also a significant indirect association between perceived stigma and quality of life through secrecy coping. Consistent with recent criminal record stigma research, internalized stigma was low among respondents. These findings point to the importance of reducing criminal record stigma and discrimination, so that individuals with criminal records have more opportunities to enhance their quality of life without having to withdraw from society or keep their record a secret.     

The characteristics of non-criminals with high psychopathy traits: Are they similar to criminal psychopaths?

This study compared the findings from a sample of non-criminals with high and low psychopathy levels to published findings with criminal psychopaths and non-psychopaths. Congruent to findings with criminal psychopaths, participants with high psychopathy traits (High-P) compared to those with low psychopathy traits (Low-P) performed significantly worse on the Iowa Gambling Task, a task sensitive to orbital frontal cortex dysfunction. Moreover, the High-P group also evidenced a lack of empathy, a hallmark feature of psychopathy. These findings could not be explained by differences in estimated IQ or performance on a task sensitive to an executive functioning deficit. The discussion focuses on possible differences between non-criminal and criminal psychopaths, concluding criminal psychopaths manifest more extreme degrees of the interpersonal-affective and antisocial features of psychopathy.     

Pornography use and sexual aggression: the impact of frequency and type of pornography use on recidivism among sexual offenders

In this study, we examined the unique contribution of pornography consumption to the longitudinal prediction of criminal recidivism in a sample of 341 child molesters. We specifically tested the hypothesis, based on predictions informed by the confluence model of sexual aggression that pornography will be a risk factor for recidivism only for those individuals classified as relatively high risk for re-offending. Pornography use (frequency and type) was assessed through self-report and recidivism was measured using data from a national database from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Indices of recidivism, which were assessed up to 15 years after release, included an overall criminal recidivism index, as well as subcategories focusing on violent (including sexual) recidivism and sexual recidivism alone. Results for both frequency and type of pornography use were generally consistent with our predictions. Most importantly, after controlling for general and specific risk factors for sexual aggression, pornography added significantly to the prediction of recidivism. Statistical interactions indicated that frequency of pornography use was primarily a risk factor for higher-risk offenders, when compared with lower-risk offenders, and that content of pornography (i.e., pornography containing deviant content) was a risk factor for all groups. The importance of conceptualizing particular risk factors (e.g., pornography), within the context of other individual characteristics is discussed.