Effective interventions for acquisitive offenders: An investigation of cognitive skills programmes.

Skills Training

May 2021

Full Citation

Wilson, S., Attrill, G., & Nugent, F. (2003). Effective interventions for acquisitive offenders: An investigation of cognitive skills programmes. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 8(1), 83-101.

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that cognitive skills programmes completed by offenders may be more effective in reducing reconviction with non-acquisitive than acquisitive offenders. This study investigates whether a similar pattern is present with offenders who have completed accredited cognitive skills programmes in prisons in England and Wales. Questionnaires measuring the cognitive deficits targeted by the programmes were administered to 8,303 offenders (mean age 30.45 yrs) in custody. Assessments were taken before, after, and at 8 wks after the end of the course. Participants were assigned to 1 of 3 groups dependent upon the number of convictions they had received for acquisitive offences; non-acquisitive, medium acquisitive and high acquisitive. Results show that offenders in the high acquisitive group showed greater need in the cognitive deficits at the pre-course stage than the other 2 groups, for both the self-completion questionnaires and the behaviour checklist. A comparison of pre- and post-course scores on the questionnaires and the behaviour checklist showed positive effect sizes for all 3 groups. Some of the variables showed a greater change from pre- to post-course in the groups that had been convicted of more acquisitive offences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)