The Relevance of Prison Programs for Shaping Female Inmate Misconduct

• In Event: On the Way Out: Re-Entry and Post Release Experiences

Abstract

Despite the emergence of the “what works” literature in corrections, relatively few studies have investigated the impact of program participation on institutional behavior. Even less is known about how programming reduces the odds of female inmate misconduct since the majority of related findings have been derived from male samples and subsequently applied to women. This is a significant oversight given the number of women incarcerated, and the potential implications for offender re-entry. Propensity score matching is used to match female participants in prison re-entry approved programs to female non-participants on criminal risk and demographic factors. Rates of institutional misconduct are compared between participants and non-participants (N = 16,000) for each of three types of prison programs in Ohio (education, unit management, and recovery services).

Authors

• Stephanie N. Spiegel, University of Cincinnati

• John Wooldredge, University of Cincinnati