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This article draws upon the theories of entrepreneurial cognition, planned behavior, and criminal desistance to understand the role of entrepreneurship education in the behavioral and cognitive transformation of incarcerated individuals. Specifically, this article considers how participation in an entrepreneurship education program should influence entrepreneurial opportunity recognition, cognitive transformation, and institutional misconduct. It suggests these changes are more likely to influence an incarcerated person’s entrepreneurial intentions and criminal desistance. The six propositions presented shed light on how an incarcerated individual’s willingness to change his or her attitudes and develop an entrepreneurial mind-set influence his or her behavior in prison and prepares him or her to prosper in a dynamic and complex world after release. This article argues that the study of one’s transformation while incarcerated through the discovery, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities is likely to advance empirical and theoretical perspectives of the fields of entrepreneurship. The examination of how incarcerated persons deal with fear of failure, risk aversion, and identity, in particular, presents great opportunities for future research.

Background Research has shown that inmate misconduct is related to a range of demographic factors and experiences with the criminal justice system. Poor mental and physical health has also been associated with inmate misconduct, although no research has examined the relationship between co-occurring conditions and misconduct in prison populations. Methods We rely on data from the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities ( N = 14,499) and use negative binomial regression models to examine the relationship between types of co-occurring mental and physical conditions and misconduct. Results The results demonstrate that people in prison dealing with concurrent mental and physical health problems are significantly more likely to engage in prison misconduct than healthy incarcerated individuals. After accounting for physical and co-occurring health conditions, mental conditions are not associated with serious misconduct. Conclusions Enhancements in prison healthcare may not only improve the general health of those in prison, but also contribute to a decrease in misconduct. Research that examines the relationship between mental health and deviant behavior in and out of prison should consider the multifaceted elements of a person’s health, including acute and chronic physical ailments.

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