An Evaluation of an In-prison Therapeutic Community: Treatment Needs and Recidivism

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 68 percent of those recently released from prison were arrested within 3 years of release, with longer term desistance from crime continuing to decline over time (Alper, Durose, & Markman, 2018). [...]the study examined subscales from the TCU Criminal Thinking Scales (CTS) and the TCU Client Evaluation of Self and Treatment (CEST) to assess the relationship between criminal thinking and poor psychosocial functioning (potential treatment targets) during treatment with subsequent recidivism. Scales Included from the TCU Criminal Thinking Scales (CTS) The TCU CTS comprises 36 questions that are answered by the participant, and the tool uses a 5-point Likert scale. Because of the instrument's ease of administration, the TCU CTS is ideal for assessing programmatic impact on the participant's changes in criminal thinking. [...]future refinement of in-prison TC programming that takes into consideration an individual's level of criminal thinking and psychosocial functioning is likely to lead to even better post-release outcomes.