This study evaluated released inmates from the prison-based psychological Lifestyle Change Program (LCP) in order to examine recidivism and program effectiveness.
The Lifestyle Change Program (LCP) is a prison-based psychological program providing inmates with 1 to 2 hours of structured classroom instruction and discussion per week. The LCP affords inmates the opportunity to participate in a supervised activity during which they are not using drugs, victimizing others, or creating problems in the correctional environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the future community adjustment of LCP participants and control inmates over a longer period of time than in an earlier 1999 investigation and to determine whether LCP had an effect on future recidivism in program participants. Participants in the study consisted of 291 male inmates who had completed at least the first level of the LCP, had been released from custody before June 2002, and had either experienced an arrest or been arrest-free at least 6 months prior to the end of the follow-up. The control group consisted of 89 male inmates who had been in the community at least 6 months or, if in the community less than 6 months, had at least 1 documented arrest. The evaluation detected a small but significant ameliorative effect of LCP participation on the prevalence and incidence of subsequent arrest, the prevalence of incarceration, and the amount of time between release and initial arrest. The study suggests that LCP is capable of reducing recidivism in both higher and lower risk participants apart from the fact that the mechanism for change may differ by risk level. Study limitations are presented and discussed. References