Evaluation of CBT for Treating the Offender

Question 1

+ Re-offending rates

Answer 1

Friendship (2002) found that re-offending rates for prisoners who received CBT were 14% lower than for those who hadn’t

Question 2

• Delivery and prisoner intelligence

Answer 2

A major issue with CBT is that in order for it to be effective, it must be delivered by competent therapists and the prisoners must have a reasonably high IQ of at least 80, good literacy skills, and be highly motivated

Question 3

• Designed for men

Answer 3

Cognitive therapies have been designed with male prisoners in mind and therefore may be inappropriate for women

Question 4

• Cann (2006)

Answer 4

Cann gave 180 female prisoners one of two types of CBT and compared them to 540 female prisoners who did not receive therapy. Re-conviction rates were examined two years after release. No significant differences were discovered between the groups, although one CBT group did slightly worse and were re-convicted earlier