Psychometric attributes associated with attrition within a prison-based democratic therapeutic community
Therapeutic Communities: The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities
ISSN: 0964-1866
Article publication date: 2 February 2023
Issue publication date: 22 March 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the psychometric characteristics of male offenders who joined a democratic therapeutic community and their relationship to attrition.
Design/methodology/approach
Residents who left therapy prematurely during the assessment phase (N = 46) and residents who left therapy prematurely during core therapy (N = 202) were compared to residents who completed therapy (N = 52) on two psychometric measures: Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices and The Blame Attribution Inventory.
Findings
A multinomial logistic regression analysis showed higher levels of external blame can predict attrition during therapy; those with higher levels of external attribution are significantly more likely to leave therapy prematurely, including both during the assessment phase and during core therapy. Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices score did not significantly predict whether an individual left therapy prematurely.
Originality/value
Support was found for existing research within the academic evidence base. The findings have both empirical and clinical utility, suggesting during the assessment phase of therapy, practitioners can identify residents that may require additional support to maintain engagement, minimising the potential for premature departure. The implications of the findings are discussed, with suggestions made for future research.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully thank the reviewers who took the time to review this article for publication.
Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding: The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Citation
Pointon, V.J. and Roberts, R. (2023), "Psychometric attributes associated with attrition within a prison-based democratic therapeutic community", Therapeutic Communities: The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, Vol. 44 No. 1, pp. 6-16. https://doi.org/10.1108/TC-10-2022-0017
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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