Low internalised restraint predicts criminal recidivism in young female prisoners

Abstract

The WAI appears to be an effective tool for identifying women who are particularly vulnerable to re-offending. Evidence of high capacity for restraint is protective, regardless of distress levels and even after adjusting for the effect of other criminologically important factors. The findings are suggestive that there may be value in individualising 'treatment' or rehabilitation programmes for prisoners.

Risk–need assessment: Bridging disciplinary and regional boundaries

“…To what extent has CBMH, a leading UK‐based international interdisciplinary journal, published research and scholarship that is consistent with a risk–need approach to the assessment, rehabilitation and risk management of offenders? A review of the published articles in volumes 18 (2008), 19 (2009) and 20 (2010) reflects the presence of a variety of studies focused on relevant areas within the RNA domain: protective factors in risk assessment (Rennie and Dolan, 2010), in‐patient risk assessment (Brown and Lloyd, 2008), criminal thinking among individuals in civil psychiatric hospitals (Carr et al, 2009), treatment engagement as a predictor of recidivism (McCarthy and Duggan, 2010), gender‐specific needs assessment in jail (Drapalski et al, 2009), risk factors in young female prisoners in Norway (Kjelsberg et al, 2009), residential community‐based rehabilitation for high‐risk offenders (Blumenthal et al, 2009), risk factors for Greek youth (Maniadaki and Kakouros, 2008), psychopathy and offense severity in sexually aggressive youth (Fougere et al, 2009), the relationship between risk factors and recidivism in serious juvenile offenders (Mulder et al, 2010) and broader risk analysis (Carson, 2008). There are, of course, important differences in the respective methodologies used in these studies, and they are conducted in different countries with different legal and criminal justice systems.…”