A multi-site randomized controlled trial of a cognitive skills programme for male mentally disordered offenders: social–cognitive outcomes.
Saved in:
| Title: | A multi-site randomized controlled trial of a cognitive skills programme for male mentally disordered offenders: social–cognitive outcomes. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Cullen, A. E., Clarke, A. Y., Kuipers, E., Hodgins, S., Dean, K., Fahy, T. |
| Source: | Psychological Medicine. Mar2012, Vol. 42 Issue 3, p557-569. 13p. |
| Subjects: | Chi-squared test, Cognition, Cognitive therapy, Interviewing, Longitudinal method, Classification of mental disorders, Health outcome assessment, Problem solving, Questionnaires, Regression analysis, Risk assessment, Statistical sampling, Scales (Weighing instruments), Statistics, T-test (Statistics), U-statistics, Criminals with mental illness, Sample size (Statistics), Data analysis, Effect sizes (Statistics), Randomized controlled trials, Treatment effectiveness, Data analysis software, Descriptive statistics |
| Geographic Terms: | United Kingdom |
| Abstract: | BackgroundCognitive skills programmes have been associated with improvements on psychometric measures and reductions in antisocial behaviour in mentally disordered offenders (MDOs). However, to date there have been no randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of such programmes with this population. In the first RCT of a cognitive skills programme with MDOs we aimed to determine if participation in the Reasoning and Rehabilitation (R&R) programme was associated with improvements in social–cognitive skills and thinking styles.MethodA total of 84 men with a primary diagnosis of psychotic disorder and a history of violence were recruited from medium-secure forensic units and allocated to receive R&R (n=44) or treatment as usual (TAU; n=40). At baseline and post-treatment interviews, participants completed questionnaires to assess social problem-solving, criminal attitudes, anger experience, blame externalizing and perspective-taking. Researchers were not blind to group status.ResultsThe R&R group demonstrated significant improvements on measures of social problem-solving relative to the TAU group, some of which were maintained at 12 months post-treatment. Only half of those allocated to receive R&R completed the full programme. In post-hoc analyses programme completers showed improvements in social problem-solving at the end of treatment and changes in criminal attitudes at 12 months post-treatment.ConclusionsAmong male MDOs, R&R participation was associated with improvements in social–cognitive skills, some of which were maintained for up to 12 months post-treatment. Our finding that programme completers do better may reflect pre-treatment patient characteristics. This study establishes that multi-site RCTs can be conducted in medium-secure forensic units. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] |
| Copyright of Psychological Medicine is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
Be the first to leave a comment!
