Juvenile Offenders Recidivism and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

2841 Words6 Pages

According to the National Institute of Justice, recidivism is one of the most fundamental concepts in criminal justice. The NIJ defines recidivism as a person’s relapse into criminal behavior, often after receiving sanctions or undergoing intervention for a previous crime. Recidivism is often utilized in evaluating prisons effectiveness in crime control. Reducing recidivism is crucial for probation, parole and to the correctional system overall.
Literature Review
“There is no single cognitive-behavioral method or theory” a quote by McGuire, quoted by Pearson and Lipton et al. in their study of Behavioral/Cognitive-Behavioral Programs on Recidivism (Pearson & Lipton et al., 2002). According to the National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists (NACBT), Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is based on the idea that our thoughts cause our feelings and behaviors, not external things, like people, situations, and events. The benefit of this fact is that we can change the way we think to feel/act better even if the situation does not change includes but is not limited to: social skill training (NACBT).
According to Pearson and Lipton et al. in their study of behavioral/Cognitive-Behavioral Programs on Recidivism; Cognitive approaches includes but are not limited to social skills training, which uses modeling and role-play, social problem-solving training, rational-emotive therapy, the cognitive skills program, often referred to as the Reasoning and Rehabilitation program, and the relapse prevention model (Pearson & Lipton et al., 2002).
Throughout history, it has become very clear that the tough on crime model just does not work. As stated by Drago & Galbiati et al. In their article: Prison Conditions and Recidivism, although it is...

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... at external validity, if conducted elsewhere whether it’s federal prisons, or different state prisons, we are confident that the results would be rather similar.

Works Cited

Drago, F., Galbiati, R. & Vertova, P. (2011). Prison conditions and recidivism. American law and economics review, 13 (1), pp. 103--130.
Henggeler, S. & Schoenwald, S. J. (2011). Evidence-based interventions for juvenile offenders and juvenile justice policies that support them. Social policy report, 25 (1), pp. 1--20.
Lipsey, M. W., Chapman, G. L., L & Enberger, N. A. (2001). Cognitive-behavioral programs for offenders. The annals of the american academy of political and social science, 578 (1), pp. 144--157.
Pearson, F. S., Lipton, D. S., Clel & Yee, D. S. (2002). The effects of behavioral/cognitive-behavioral programs on recidivism. Crime & delinquency, 48 (3), pp. 476--496.

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