In Brief: Using a Cognitive-Behavioral Approach in Programs to Reduce Recidivism

Research has shown that programs using a cognitive-behavioral approach that includes skills practice have the greatest impact on reducing future criminal behavior, with the potential to reduce adult and juvenile recidivism by as much as 26 percent.³ A meta-analysis comparing programs used with the juvenile population found that other types of programs, including those that employ a cognitive approach without addressing behavior, psycho-educational programs that impart information to participants without teaching replacement behaviors, and journaling are less effective. Approaches that focus on punishment are likely to increase recidivism.⁴ [See Figure 2]

Because cognitive-behavioral programs are also among the most cost-effective that a corrections agency can use, they are becoming a popular recidivism-reduction tool.⁵ To be most effective at reducing recidivism, cognitive-behavioral programs should target people who are most likely to reoffend and focus on the criminogenic needs most associated with recidivism, including antisocial attitudes, personality, and associates. These programs can be delivered in institutional or community settings by mental health specialists or trained paraprofessionals and can be administered as part of a multifaceted program or as a stand-alone intervention.

Figure 2. Cognitive-behavioral Program Impact on Recidivism Over the Course of Treatment⁶

1. Graphic based on material from Mark Lipsey, Nana Landenberger, Sandra Wilson, “Effects of a Cognitive-Behavioral Program for Criminal Offenders,” (Oslo: The Campbell Collaboration, 2007).
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid; Mark Lipsey, “The Primary Factors that Characterize Effective Interventions with Juvenile Offenders: A Meta-Analytic Overview” Victims & Offenders: An International Journal of Evidence-Based Research, Policy, and Practice, 4, no. 2 (2009), 124–147. Other evaluations of similar programs servicing adults found analogous trends as the meta-analysis demonstrates.
5. Elizabeth Drake, Inventory of Evidence-Based and Research-Based Programs for Adult Corrections, Document Number 13-12-1901, (Olympia: Washington State Institute for Public Policy, 2013).
6. Mark Lipsey, “The Primary Factors that Characterize Effective Interventions with Juvenile Offenders: A Meta-Analytic Overview”.