The Effects of Cognitive Abilities on Successful Prison Treatment: A Biosocial Assessment of Responsivity to Correctional Treatment

• In Event: The Continued Expansion of Biosocial Criminology

Abstract

As prior research in education literature has identified, the cognitive capacity of an individual directly influences a substantial quantity of a variety of educational outcomes. Conceivably, the empirical link between cognitive abilities and success in educational environments could exist in non-school environments, such as prison. Since the beginning of the 21st century, departments of corrections nationwide have implemented a number of education based rehabilitation programs. Similar to high school classroom expectations, prison rehabilitation programs require offenders to obtain, retain, and apply the knowledge learned throughout the program. But the ability to achieve these expectations is often based on the individual level characteristics influencing an offender’s responsivity to educational environments. The current empirical assessment advances the knowledge surrounding prison rehabilitation, through the employment of biosocial perspectives and knowledge obtained from literature on human education. Employing a representative sample of offenders in a large midwestern state, the current study assesses cognitive abilities influence on offenders’ success in various prison treatment programs. Bivariate and multivariate analyses present evidence indicating an association between cognitive abilities and offenders’ success in prison treatment programs.

Authors

• Ian A. Silver, University of Cincinnati

• Joseph L. Nedelec, University of Cincinnati