The Effect of Moral Reconation Therapy on the Recidivism of Youthful Offenders

Abstract

A randomized experimental design was used to test the effect of moral reconation therapy on the recidivism rates of youth offenders. The sample consisted of youth offenders who were incarcerated in a county jail in Maryland ( N = 256). A survival analysis compared the risk of recidivism of the treatment and control groups. The risk of recidivism for the treatment group was not significantly different from the risk of recidivism for the control group. A supplemental analysis compared a high implementation treatment group with the randomized control group. Individuals in the high implementation treatment group received a minimum of 30 days of treatment. Consistent with earlier results, group differences were not statistically significant.