Date of Award
4-1997
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Educational Leadership
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the theory of cognitive self-change as it applies to increasing the successful completion rate of felony offenders sentenced to a probation half-way house. Subjects used were young, males who had been convicted of non-violent crimes and who were ordered to complete the Alternative Directors Residential Probation program as part of their probation order.
The group of residents who entered Alternative Directions in October, 1994 was given an intensive ten hour course using cognitive decision making techniques during their first two weeks in residence. The groups of residents entering the program in September and November, 1994 served as a comparison group.
The discharge data provided by Alternative Directions staff were then analyzed and successful completion rates compared for those receiving the treatment with those who did not participate in the decision making classes. Seventy-five percent (9 of 12) in the treatment group fulfilled requirements for successful discharge, while forty-six percent (18 of 39) of the non-treatment group were similarly successful. Significance at the .05 alpha level was not achieved.
Access Setting
Dissertation-Open Access
Recommended Citation
O’Hara, Marlene, "Decision Making and the Felony Offender: A Cognitive Approach" (1997). Dissertations. 1658.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/1658