Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2007, Urban Studies and Public Affairs

Over several past decades, scholars and researchers have confirmed that child abuse is associated with negative outcomes in victims' lives, such as substance abuse, mental health problems, school problems, and delinquency or criminality. This current study extends what has already been learned about the effect of child abuse by exploring the role of child abuse on re-offending of 960 incarcerated youths in Ohio. The purposes of this study are (1) to compare the recidivism rates between the youths with and without a history of abuse, (2) to investigate whether or not the history of physical abuse and sexual abuse are additional risk factors of recidivism, and (3) to determine whether or not physical and sexual abuse experience moderates the relationship between risk factors and juvenile re-offending. The result shows that the patterns of re-offending varied in accordance with the type of abuse, gender, and risk level. In particular, physical abuse was found to be a significant predictor of reincarceration overall and for males. However, sexual abuse was not a predictor for re-offending for either gender. Both physical and sexual abuse were uncovered to be moderator effects of risk factors and recidivism. Surprisingly, youthful offenders with a history of abuse were less likely to recidivate than those with no history of abuse when gender and risk level were controlled. The limitations, implications, and recommendations for future study are discussed.

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2008, Graduate School

Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2023, Sociology

Recidivism, or the tendency of individuals to re-offend after release from incarceration, is a complex and multifaceted issue that has significant implications for the criminal justice system, the communities affected by crime, and the individuals who are justice-impacted. Each day, a substantial number of individuals in the United States are released from correctional facilities. Despite efforts to prevent their return to incarceration, more than half of paroled individuals end up going back to prison or jail, perpetuating a vicious cycle of criminality that poses a threat to their communities. The issue of recidivism is a pressing concern that demands effective solutions to prevent further harm to society and promote the successful reintegration of those impacted by the criminal justice system. The United States has created various systems to combat recidivism including two different forms of community supervision, known as probation and parole. For this study, I interviewed parole officers in order to learn their perspectives. This study is designed to investigate the impact of various factors, specifically attitudes toward reintegration into society, on positive recidivism outcomes. The interviews revealed that factors such as correctional programs, substance abuse, mental health, social support, and even newer factors such as aging out all affect recidivism outcomes. While those factors are important, this research also shows a singular factor that seems to have one of if not the biggest effect on recidivism outcomes. The parole officer's belief in the returning citizen attitude is underappreciated in past literature and, when focused, can be huge in increasing positive recidivism outcomes. From a parole officer's point of view, a returning citizen's attitude can affect how seriously they take the educational programs and if they even care to better themselves. This belief can change how a parole officer views the returning citizen in a more negative or positiv (open full item for complete abstract)

Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2022, Psychology

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Clark County Juvenile Court's intensive probation units on the level of implementation of their intake assessments, especially the Juvenile Inventory for Functioning (JIFF), which assesses areas of risk from the youth and caregiver perspective. The study also evaluated the effectiveness of probation case plans regarding goal planning based off the JIFF intake assessment results. The research consisted of a data analysis, along with a content analysis to evaluate the level of the JIFF assessment being connected to probation officers' goal planning. Sample consisted of 31 youth who were between 13-18 years old. There were 26 males (84%) and 5 females (16%). Participants were enrolled in one of three intensive probation units: general (n=20), mental health (n = 5), or substance use (n = 6). Only 58% of youth had completed a JIFF assessment, with only 48% of youth having a caregiver who also completed a JIFF assessment. The highest percentage of JIFF connections to an area of goal planning was for educational goals at 74%. Results showed that when caregivers, but not youth, reported more areas of concern on the JIFF, more JIFF-connected goals were set by the probation officers. The safety goal section of the case plan was found have a large effect size for increasing the amount of days till recidivating while on intensive probation. These findings suggest that using the JIFF assessment to plan probation goals could benefit youth in Clark County's Juvenile Court.

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2022, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice

The predictive validity of the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model's Central Eight risk factors on juvenile recidivism is well known in the Western context. However, few studies have extended the validation of juvenile risk assessment tools across non-Western samples, settings, and jurisdictions. This dissertation explores the role of the Central Eight risk factors in predicting recidivism among youth in South Korea. To examine the generalizability of the RNR model's risk factors, the study used data from a sample of 418 arrested South Korean youth who received the juvenile Risk Assessment Instrument (JRAI) at the intake stage for a diversion decision. Recidivism was defined as re-adjudication of a youth on a new offense, excluding status offenses and school offenses. I first assessed the tool's predictive utility for predicting new adjudication by examining the total and subscale scores using customary predictive diagnostics (e.g., positive predictive value, negative predictive value, predictive efficiency), Receiver Operating Characteristics analyses, and Cox Proportional Hazards survival analysis. Second, I conducted Cox proportional hazards survival analysis to determine which JRAI factors drive the predictive utility of the tool. Finally, I conducted exploratory analyses to determine the relative influence of items that do and do not correspond to the traditional RNR central eight on the predictive utility. The results show that the predictive ability of the risk assessment used at the intake stage seems to have diminished since its development and initial implementation, and runaway from home was found to be the sole significant risk factor predicting juvenile recidivism in South Korea. Further, when the tool's non-RNR-based items were removed, the modified version did not improve the tool's overall predictive validity. This dissertation offers some research and practical recommendations for implementing evidence-based assessment tools in Korean Juvenile Justic (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Social Work, The Ohio State University, 2021, Social Work

Reentry programs seek to reduce reoffending behavior of formerly incarcerated adults by utilizing effective interventions, including the Risk, Needs, and Responsivity (RNR) model. The RNR model was developed to assess the risks and needs of the individual so the best intervention or treatment response can be identified. Formerly incarcerated individuals are able to offer insight into the utility of community interventions and their ability to help reduce recidivism. A scoping review was conducted to assess the availability and scientific rigor of recidivism-based interventions, and their applicability to formerly incarcerated adults. This review considers the availability of empirical evidence about effective interventions to reduce recidivism and reoffending among adults. The review also includes a review of the RNR model, which has an emerging evidence base. Ultimately, the scoping review for this thesis explores whether current interventions for those reentering their communities following after their release from prison are helpful for keeping them from reoffending in the future.

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2020, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice

The prison experience provides a unique context where the notion of offender change takes on a different role compared to conventional “turning points,” such as marriage and employment. However, developmental and life-course (DLC) perspectives place little emphasis on inmate experiences despite incarceration being a major life event. Fitting correctional theory into the developmental framework and embedding the inmate in a broader context can enhance how we view desistance by identifying the key risk factors across both these perspectives. Using aspects from both DLC and correctional perspectives, this dissertation disentangles the “black box” of the prison experience by examining how the completion of programming that aligns with key aspects of the turning point literature, such as family programming, cognitive-behavioral interventions, and prison industry work programs, impact incarceration. This dissertation also provides an innovative way of viewing program completion that is both informed by the DLC literature and goes beyond whether program completion predicts a lower likelihood of offending, but more so how it potentially attenuates the impact of pre-prison characteristics (i.e., risk factors) and the structural conditions of incarceration (i.e., security level, sentence length, movement, waitlist status).

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2020, Antioch New England: Clinical Psychology

Recidivism among criminal offenders has been a persistent and intractable problem for many decades. Cognitive behavioral interventions, particularly when implemented with adherence to the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) treatment model, have proven to be effective in reducing recidivism rates. However, real world circumstances in penal institutions place restrictions on how these programs are implemented and may make it difficult for these interventions to be instituted with integrity and/or adherence to the RNR model. This is a particular challenge at local jails, which house shorter-term populations and have fewer resources. Currently there is a lack of research looking at the effectiveness of treatment programs in jail settings. The majority of research has been on programs instituted within the prison system, which houses a different population, with lengthier and more predictable periods of incarceration (Lizima et al., 2014). More research is needed on treatment programs in local jails to investigate how these programs are implemented, what modifications are made, and whether or not these programs, either modified or implemented as designed, are effective (Durlak & DuPre, 2008). This study confirmed the existence of substantial challenges to maintaining integrity of implementation in a jail setting, particularly related to dosage. Interviews revealed that numerous modifications were made to the MRT protocol when implemented, both initially and over time. Many of these modifications were minor and incidental, but a number of them made substantive changes to the program. The decision-making process of the staff responsible for implementing the program was thoughtful, creative, and ultimately motivated primarily by clinical concerns related to the specific population being served. Modifications were generally consistent with the RNR model.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, Public Policy and Management

Evictions are endemic in the United States, affecting as many as 1 in 19 tenant households each year (Desmond et al., 2016). This number is expected to increase in 2020, affecting between 9 million and 15 million households and disproportionately hurting minority and low-income communities (Cunningham, Boshart, & Hariharan, 2020; Kleiner, Yerardi, & Rebala, 2020; Merle, 2020; Warnock & Salviati, 2020). Evictions are a symptom of and a contributor to poverty, resulting in material loss, homelessness, and poor mental outcomes. In Evicted, Matthew Desmond, whose work on forced moves has created a foundation for academic research on evictions, writes, “If incarceration had come to define the lives of men from impoverished Black neighborhoods, eviction was shaping the lives of women. Poor Black men were locked up. Poor Black women were locked out” (Desmond, 2016, p. 98) Though the line Desmond draws between eviction and incarceration is merely symbolic, there is evidence to support the idea that the connection is more than metaphorical. Consequences of eviction, such as financial strain, displacement, and depression have each, separately, been linked to criminal justice outcomes. Yet little prior research investigates the direct link between eviction and criminal justice outcomes, like incarceration. The essays that comprise this dissertation use quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the spatial association, causal effect, and tenant perception of the relationship between evictions and incarceration. The first essay uses aggregated, geocoded data on evictions and incarcerations that occurred in Franklin County, Ohio, home to the City of Columbus, between 2011 and 2017. Using a spatial regression model with first-order spatial lags and error terms and temporal fixed effects, I find that, ceteris paribus, a 10 percentage-point increase in the incarceration rate within a block group is associated with a 3.31 percentage-point increase in the eviction filing rat (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), Wright State University, 2021, School of Professional Psychology

Women who use illicit substances and misuse prescription drugs and become involved in the criminal justice system due to drug-related offenses are likely to experience high rates of relapse to drug use and recidivism, even after engaging in treatment. However, there has been little research, either qualitatively or quantitatively, to explain this trend. Of the available research, some stressors unique to women that may impact return to use were noted. Those stressors included dysfunctional adult and intimate partner relationships, untreated mental health problems, and problems with child custody (Bonta et al., 1995; Lambert & Madden, 1976; Long, Sultan, Kiefer, & Schrum, 1983; Neale et al., 2014). The primary goal of this study was to interview women sentenced to in-jail drug diversion for a second time within the previous year to determine what factors may have contributed to a return to drug use after engaging in treatment. Results of this qualitative study indicated that women endorsed dysfunctional adult and intimate partner relationships and untreated mental health concerns as contributing to relapse to drug use. Participants also noted that lack of resources and revictimization contributed to relapse to drug use. Little support was found for the involvement of Child Protective Services (CPS) as contributing to relapse to drug use. However, support was found for child-rearing concerns and relationships as contributing to relapse to drug use and recidivism.

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Psychology/Clinical

Current research and data reflects that the ongoing trend in juvenile delinquency rates continues to decline each year. Previous studies involve understanding preventative factors that contribute to youth not becoming involved in delinquent activity. Preventative factors include youth having a positive family relationship, youth with a high level of psychosocial maturity, and youth who have a positive school bond. The purpose of this research is to focus on preventative factors surrounding recidivism. Using previously collected data from the Ohio Youth Assessment Survey-Disposition (OYAS-DIS), a tool used at the time of disposition for youth involved in the justice system, the study aimed to determine if positive school bond could moderate the effects of a negative family relationship. The OYAS-DIS provided a cumulative risk score for three different domains; Family, Education, and Prosocial that were used for analysis. These domains did not form a good representation of the areas of interest for study as they were risk indices instead of reflecting psychological constructs. The risk domains were used to form hypotheses that each domain would be positively associated with recidivism within a year. These hypotheses were not supported by the results. There were no significant findings that suggested any interactions between the Education and Family domains, nor either of these domains with the Prosocial domain. The findings did produce significant differences in risk scores for Black and White participants on the Education domain. Additionally, males had higher risk scores than females on the Family and Education domains. These findings suggest that further research into racial differences on the OYAS-DIS may prove beneficial to its administration and usage. Future studies may also include analysis of items that better construct a domain of interest (e.g., family relationship, school bond, and psychosocial maturity).

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2020, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

The topic of prison design is controversial within the architecture profession. Some architects believe designing prisons goes against the values of the profession. It is an architect's job to ensure the health, safety and welfare of the people. Since prisons deny individuals their basic human rights, they therefore believe it goes against the ethics of an architect to design them. However, there are numerous studies proving the health and welfare benefits of good design. The principles derived from these studies are implemented in healthcare buildings, education facilities, etc. While there is a distinctive correlation between health, education and correctional facilities, these design principles are typically absent in prisons. Statistics show the majority of inmates have addiction or mental health issues, which can be drastically aggravated by the confinement and condition of current prisons. By applying the same design principles used in healthcare and educational facilities, prisons can begin to combat the mental and physical effects of confinement. Design can be used in a way to humanize the inmates, give them a greater sense of independence, cut down on inmate on inmate violence, and ultimately assist in the process of rehabilitation to break the cycle of repeat offenders. As an architect, you cannot change the justice system. However, you do have the ability to impact the lives of the prisoners within the justice system.

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2020, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice

Despite the emergence of what works in corrections, a small number of studies have evaluated the effects of prison programming on post-release behavior. Even fewer studies have evaluated the effects of prison programming for reducing prison deviance and the majority of studies have been derived from male samples and subsequently applied to women. This is a significant oversight given the number of female offenders currently incarcerated and the potential implications for their reentry. This dissertation sought to advance prior work by examining the effects of reentry approved programs on institutional misconduct and recidivism on a large sample of female offenders in Ohio. Multiple outcomes reflecting institutional misconduct and return to prison were examined. Propensity score matching was used to compare female offenders who participated in a reentry approved program (group by group) to offenders who did not participate in a reentry approved programs. Additionally, multivariate regression with statistical controls was also adopted as a sensitivity check of the results from PSM. The results suggest that Thinking for a Change and therapeutic community programs are relevant for reducing the females' odds of institutional misconduct. Findings on return-to-prison were generally consistent with those for institutional misconduct, but offer some additional insights in that women who participated in Victim Awareness and vocational training programs had lower odds of returning to prison.The results also revealed program completion is relevant for reducing deviance compared to merely starting but not completing a program. To provide greater context to the findings, a discussion of how reentry approved programs adhere to and do not adhere to a major theoretical model of correctional intervention, the risk-need-responsivity model, is presented.

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2019, Antioch Seattle: Clinical Psychology

Although many evidence-based techniques are outlined in the literature, systems often assess, plan, and mitigate risk for Persons with Serious Mental Illness (PSMI) in significantly divergent ways. For more than 20 years now, the Washington State Department of Corrections has relied on the Offender Reentry Community Safety Program (ORCSP) to appraise dangerousness and presence of mental disorder, utilizing a staged process that considers a wide-ranging set of criminogenic and non-criminogenic variables. A growing body of research suggests that the ORCSP is effectively decreasing recidivism through collaborative reentry planning and mitigation between mental health and criminal justice professionals; however, whether ORCSP participant screening methods are valid or reliable remains untested. Without a cohesive assessment theory or comprehensive exploration of recidivism trends, increased scrutiny must be given to findings. In an effort to clarify these issues, this dissertation evaluates current and historical ORCSP assessment processes, overviews national standards and best-practices for PSMI risk management, and provides a set of practical recommendations to improve selection efficiency.

Master of Arts in Psychology, Cleveland State University, 2017, College of Sciences and Health Professions

Prior research has found that the general public perceives sex offenders negatively as a whole (Edwards & Hensley, 2001). These perceptions have enabled sex offender management policies that create ironic conditions for sex offender rehabilitation and reintegration (Hanson, & Harris, 2000). More recent research has found that when sex offenders are presented as subcategories the public has more varied, though still negative attitudes toward sex offenders (King & Roberts, 2015). Furthermore, a burgeoning area of research has developed around the differentiation of child sex offenders based on the contact that they have had with their victims: non-contact, contact-only, and mixed-contact. The present study examined the effect that contact type has on perceptions of recidivism for child sex offenders, and whether the presentation of statistical information would affect these perceptions. There was a significant differentiation of perceptions of recidivism across contact types. Participant sex had a significant effect such that women perceived sex offenders as more likely to recidivate than male participants. Moreover, presenting statistical information to participants significantly reduced their perceptions of recidivism; although these perceptions remained significantly higher than the empirical data for recidivism. These results have significant implications for outreach programs that may seek to better educate the public about sex offenders and the development of sex offender management policies with a more empirically-based approach.

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2017, Arts and Sciences: Psychology

Women are said to be the fastest growing segment of the criminal justice population (Hall, Golder, Conley, & Sawning, 2013). Strains (e.g., drug use and psychosocial factors; Agnew, 1992) and injection drug use (IDU; Kirwan et al., 2015) are associated with recidivism. Women are said to experience as much, if not more strain than men (Broidy & Agnew, 1997). The intersection between risky drug use (IDU), psychosocial factors, and recidivism has been primarily studied among males in metropolitan contexts. The aim of the present study was to examine the predictors of recidivism among a sample of rural incarcerated females. It was hypothesized that likelihood of recidivism (after six and 12 months) would increase if the participant was a lifetime injection drug user, had lower educational attainment, had fewer to no children, did not have custody of their children, was not partnered, or was unemployed. The present study was a secondary data analysis of female inmates from three rural Appalachia area jails, and included data from the baseline (n = 400), 6-month follow-up (n = 344), and 12-month follow-up (n = 321) samples. The original study tested a brief intervention for high-risk substance abusing women. Results revealed that at the 6-month follow-up, number of children (B = .21, p = .01; AOR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.04 – 1.45) and partner status (B = -.65, p = .02; AOR = .52, 95% CI = .30 - .91) significantly predicted recidivism, such that having more children and being un-partnered predicted an increased likelihood of recidivism. At the 12-month follow-up, IDU (B = .6, p = .03; AOR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.06 – 3.03), significantly predicted recidivism, such that lifetime IDUs have an increased likelihood of being reincarcerated than non-IDUs. Findings suggest desistence from crime interventions should include targeted programs for mothers, partnership skills development, and long-term injection drug use relapse prevention.

MA, Kent State University, 2017, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Sociology and Criminology

This study examines the association between symptoms of mental health issues and self-reported recidivism in a sample of 642 male, system-involved youth over a period of 18 months. The sample comes from the `Research on Pathways to Desistance' study, designed by Edward P. Mulvey. Drawing on theories of systemic racism and disproportionate minority contact, as well as policies created during the `War on Drugs', I compare the experiences of African-American and White juvenile offenders. Findings from negative binomial regression analyses indicate that symptoms of mental health issues among juveniles are associated with all types of recidivism— namely, property crimes, violent crimes, and drug crimes—at some point during the 18 month follow up period, while controlling for: race; age; parental socioeconomic status; alcohol and drug use; perception of justice; exposure to violence; neighborhood conditions; and the proportion of time in the community and not secure-placement. This study highlights the need for more research examining racial disparities in recidivism and mental health, and the importance of considering symptomatology. By confirming the prevalence of symptoms of mental health issues among juveniles, the study also underscores the need to identify and treat mental health issues in order to prevent recidivism.

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2016, Antioch Santa Barbara: Clinical Psychology

Despite astronomical costs, state-funded sex offender treatment has a sole purpose of protecting communities at large. Designed to treat sexual psychopaths, costly state risk management programs are required to use traditional, outdated treatment models, which lack empirical support, lack published research, and lack curricula written at the seventh-grade reading level. Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) eagerly proves to be a new modality for Psychoeducation (PE) enhancing treatment efficacy and reducing offender recidivism in court-mandated treatment. The distinction in the present study is the difference between PE alone (control group) and PE with PNI (experimental group). Specifically, this study investigated the extent to which implementing the PNI treatment intervention was associated with decreased recidivism in court-mandated treatment. This study employed a quantitative research design with repeated measures with multiple linear regression analyses. The two-independent/question predictor variables: treatment interventions of PNI (18-months and 24-months of treatment) were compared on one dependent variable: (reduction in the participant's chance of recidivating following treatment). An association of decreased recidivism was established with results that demonstrated a statistically significant effect or difference between the control and treatment groups. Significant effects were evaluated for using regression beta coefficients with t-value and significance of t-values associations, respectively. Furthermore, results suggested that implementing the PNI treatment intervention in the experimental group produced a statistically significant effect between groups. There was a significant bivariate correlation between implementation of treatment intervention and participants who were experiencing: (a) financial problems (ß = -4.06, p = .13), (b) family/marital problems (ß = 1.71, p = .009), (c) negative social support influence (ß = .77, p = .07) and (d) participants (open full item for complete abstract)

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2016, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice

Every single day in the United States, correctional agencies release individuals back into the community. Depending on the state, many of these individuals may be placed in halfway houses as a mechanism for transitioning the offender back into the community. There is no set model for halfway houses, and even within the same state or operated by the same provider, the programs and services, if available, will vary. Perhaps the only requirement that all halfway houses share focuses on public safety and adopting efforts to monitor and enforce community supervision conditions. Despite this common thread, the costs for treatment and programming are often limited and allocations for effective programming and interventions can be a challenge for community supervision. The current study examined the impact of dosage, use of modeling and role playing, application of core correctional practices, and targeting of criminogenic needs on a sample of 3281 Pennsylvania parolees who were directed to halfway houses following their release from prison. While this sample is unique and this group of offenders experienced high rates of recidivism, a few findings emerged that offers empirical support for dosage and criminogenic needs. In particular, adopting three to nine months of programming and targeting the strongest dynamic predictors (e.g., antisocial attitudes, antisocial peers, and antisocial personality) produced the greatest impact on recidivism. This study also offered insight into the common targets of community programming and supervision (e.g., employment, education, substance abuse) that are relevant stabilizing factors for offenders, but collectively were unable to produce the reductions in recidivism that were likely hoped for. The implications for the current research may offer more lessons learned for practitioners and policy makers about what practices to avoid rather than adopt, or more ideally, what efforts should take priority in order to improve offender outcom (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education, University of Akron, 2016, Educational Leadership

The literature on student conduct in higher education has been insufficient to aid student conduct administrators in determining what sanctions would benefit students who violate campus policies and reduce repeat behavior. The purpose of this study was to address this problem by identifying typologies of student offenders that were at a higher risk of becoming a repeat offender and determining if there were sanctions that moderated the higher risk. Using student conduct records from two Division I institutions in the Mid-American Conference, a sample of 828 student offender records from the fall 2010, first-year student, residential cohort was identified for the study. Student offender records were coded as either a first offender or repeat offender by examining the student conduct records from fall 2010 through close of the spring 2015 semester for each participating institution. Demographic characteristics of the student offenders (academic program, age, ethnicity, gender, and size of residence hall) and circumstances of the offense characteristics (location of the offense, primary offense type, semester of the offense, and substance use/abuse as part of the offense) were analyzed using latent class analysis (LCA) to identify the student offender typologies. Binary logistical regression was then utilized to determine if any of the identified student offender typologies were at higher risk of being a repeat offender and if sanctions moderated the higher risk. Three distinct student offender typologies were identified: (1) African American or White students living in large residence halls who committed a safety/social/other offense in which alcohol or drugs were not involved; (2) White students living in small residence halls where alcohol or drugs was the primary offense; (3) students with “unspecified” ethnicity living in large residence halls where alcohol or drugs was the primary offense. This study was not successful in linking these typologies to (open full item for complete abstract)