Reflected and Peer Appraisals in a Prison-Based Therapeutic Community

• In Event: Emergent Research on Inmate Social Networks

Abstract

The prison-based therapeutic community (TC) is a promising drug and alcohol treatment program that emphasizes sobriety and desistance through group interaction and individual responsibility. While RCT evaluations have demonstrated positive results, the cognitive, behavioral, and social processes that underlie prison-based TCs are largely unknown. In this study, I examine if the change in one’s perceived role (i.e., reflected appraisal) in the TC as an inmate progresses through treatment matches evaluations collected directly from others in the unit (i.e., peer appraisals). TC philosophy expects that increases in self-awareness, personal accountability, and positive role modeling should reduce discrepancies between reflected and peer appraisals over time. Using role terminology taken directly from the TC handbook and longitudinal network data collected from TC-PINS (Therapeutic Community Prison Inmate Networks Study), I examine role appraisal alignment throughout the treatment process. I test if participants who become more invested, self-aware, and embedded in the community have reflected appraisals of their community roles that more closely align to their peer appraisals. Unlocking the interaction of treatment engagement and role fulfillment facilitates improved program implementation and increased potential for successful community reintegration.

Author

• Kim Davidson, Pennsylvania State University