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The effectiveness of treatment in institutional and community settings
Author(s) -
LÖSEL FRIEDRICH
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
criminal behaviour and mental health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1471-2857
pISSN - 0957-9664
DOI - 10.1002/cbm.1993.3.4.416
Subject(s) - doctrine , context (archaeology) , value (mathematics) , institution , nothing , work (physics) , psychology , process (computing) , public relations , political science , sociology , social science , epistemology , engineering , computer science , law , geography , mechanical engineering , philosophy , archaeology , machine learning , operating system
Contrary to the ‘nothing works’ doctrine, there has been a recent revitalisation in attitudes to offender ‘treatment’ . New approaches to research integrating evaluations by meta‐analysis have substantially contributed to this. This paper reviews these approaches and evaluates how far the revitalisation is justified empirically. Although much previous work is of value, including pointers to the relatively beneficial effects of some kinds of treatment approach, and particularly those informed by sound theoretical models, gaps in knowledge have been identified, particularly in the area of treatment context. Data are lacking, not only in distinguishing the impact of a physical institution compared with a more open environment, but also in the effect of organisational, staff and treatment process characteristics.