Jordan M. Hyatt

Even a Little Bit Helps An Implementation and Experimental Evaluation of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for High-Risk Probationers

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most promising and widely used therapeutic approaches to reducing recidivism among criminal populations. Although many studies have evaluated CBT for this express purpose, few have done so in a community correctional environment. This article reports findings from a randomized field trial evaluating, “Choosing to Think, Thinking to Choose,” a CBT program designed specifically for a community correctional setting, and its impact on the recidivism of high-risk offenders. High-risk probationers were assigned to either standard, intensive probation (n = 447) or to the treatment condition (n = 457), where they received the same supervision intensity while also being directed to a classroom-based, 14-week CBT program. Twelve months after random assignment, intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses indicate that the overall CBT group was significantly less likely to reoffend, although this effect is concentrated in measures of nonviolent offending.

Randomized experiments in Scandinavian criminal justice: Reviewing the past and looking to the future:

Randomized controlled trials are reported on with increasing frequency within the criminological literature. This development, which is commonly seen as being a part of a global shift towards evidence-based policies, relies heavily on reviews of American research. However, other regions face distinct challenges and employ distinct policy solutions, potentially undermining the uniformity of this trend. In particular, the Scandinavian nations (Denmark, Norway and Sweden), with distinct penal philosophies, may offer a counter-narrative. Here, we conduct a multi-lingual systematic review of crime-related experiments in Scandinavia. Findings show that only eight experiments with an offending or delinquency outcome were published before 2015, six of which focused primarily on medical or psychological treatments. We suggest this distribution is driven by unique, regional epistemological traditions and conclude by outlining distinctive opportunities for experimental criminology in Scandinavia.