Motivating young people in prison to improve behaviour
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14636641311299077 |
| Published date | 08 February 2013 |
| Date | 08 February 2013 |
| Pages | 44-54 |
| Author | Susan Clare Kearney,Joselyn Liza Sellen |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Public policy & environmental management,Sociology |
Motivating young people in prison to
improve behaviour
Susan Clare Kearney and Joselyn Liza Sellen
Abstract
Purpose – One of the greatest challenges facing forensic practitioners is motivating offenders to engage
in treatment. Possibly one of the hardest groups to engage and comply with prison regimes are young
people in prison (YPP) aged 15-17 years. Whilst there has been research interest in adult offender
treatment motivation, little attention has been paid to motivation in imprisoned juveniles. The purpose of
this paper is to report the adaptation of the existing adult motivational enhancement tool – the Personal
Aspiration and Concerns Inventory for Offenders (PACI-O) – foruse with a YPP population and to explore
the motivational effect of the PACI-O-YPV (YoungPerson’s Version) on YPP.
Design/methodology/approach – In total, 18 YPP took part, with nine participants each in the control
and experimental groups. All participants completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and their
prison regime status was recorded. The experimental group completed the PACI-O-YPV.
Findings – Results showed YPP who completed the PACI-O-YPV displayed an improved prison regime
status, indicating improved behaviour whilst in prison and increased SWLS, compared with those in the
control group. These findings support previous results with adult offender samples.
Research limitations/implications – A small sample size necessitates caution in interpreting results.
Further research is needed to assess the PACI-O-YPV’s full potential.
Practical implications – Lack of motivation has been identified as a salient concern among both adult
and young person offender populations. Comprehensive efforts are required to enhance motivation in
forensic populations.
Originality/value – This research addresses motivation enhancement in an under-researched offender
population.
Keywords Prisons, Youth, Forensic practice, Behaviour, Young people in prison,
Motivation (psychology), Goal based theory, PACI-O,Engagement
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
A significant amount of crime is committed by young people, with the high prevalence of
delinquent behaviour in teenage years well documented. Indeed, the age crime curve where
offending behaviour rapidly increases in early adolescence, is one of the least contested
issues in criminology (Hirshi and Gottfredson, 1983; Kanazawa and Still, 2000). Home Office
statistics suggest that the peak age for offending occurs between the ages of 16 and 17
years in young males (Nicholas et al., 2009). Successful intervention at this stage could avert
life long criminal careers and therefore makes early therapeutic involvement with this
population essential (Lipsey, 1992; Morgan-Armstrong et al., 2008). However, one of the
greatest challenges facing forensic services is offenders’ lack of motivation to engage
in prison activities in general and treatment programmes in particular (Gudjonsson et al.,
2007; McMurran, 2002). This problem is prominent in the 15-17-year-old prison population
(young people in prison (YPP); Payne (2008), personal communication, August).
Furthermore, it is recognised that there is a lack of research concerning effective
engagement with YPP (YJB, 2008).
PAGE 44
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JOURNAL OF FORENSIC PRACTICE
j
VOL. 15 NO. 1 2013, pp. 44-54, QEmerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2050-8794 DOI 10.1108/14636641311299077
Susan Clare Kearney and
Joselyn Liza Sellen are
based at the Department of
Applied Psychology,Cardiff
Metropolitan University
(UWIC), Cardiff, UK.
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