Evaluation of the Reasoning and Rehabilitation Cognitive Skills Development Program Implemented in Juvenile Intensive Supervision Probation in Colorado, 1994-1995 (ICPSR 2028)
Version Date: Mar 30, 2006 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Suzanne Pullen, Colorado Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Justice;
Kim English, Colorado Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Justice
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR02028.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
This study was a program evaluation of the Reasoning and Rehabilitation Cognitive Skills Development Program, an educational program that taught cognitive skills to offenders, as implemented in juvenile intensive supervision probation in Colorado. Using an experimental design, researchers sought to measure the extent of change in attitudes and behaviors due to the cognitive skills program by administering pre- and post-test interviews. Researchers also measured recidivism by conducting interviews with probation officers who supervised the offenders in the sample six months after termination from intensive supervision. These interviews were supplemented with administrative records data that provided background information about the sample. In addition, administrative data were collected on all juveniles sentenced to intensive supervision during fiscal years 1994 and 1995 to compare juveniles in the sample with all juveniles in the intensive program. Variables in this collection include cognitive measures, such as impulsivity, problem-solving ability, egocentricity, and cognitive style. Other variables measure emotional responses to various situations, attitudes toward the law, values, drug abuse, program participation, and recidivism. Administrative data include age, gender, ethnicity, offense of conviction, and basic assessment data.
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Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
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The codebook and data collection instruments are provided as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided through the ICPSR Website on the Internet.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The Reasoning and Rehabilitation Cognitive Skills Development Program was developed by Ross and Fabiano in 1985 as an educational program that focused on teaching the following cognitive skills to offenders: problem-solving, consequential thinking, means-end reasoning, social perspective-taking, critical reasoning, abstract reasoning, creative thinking, and values. In 1992 the Colorado Office of Probation Services incorporated the Reasoning and Rehabilitation Program as a requirement for young offenders placed in juvenile intensive supervision probation. While previous research had evaluated this cognitive skills program for adults, this project was designed to evaluate the outcomes of this program as implemented in a juvenile setting. In particular, it sought to answer the following questions: (1) Did the program work to change attitudes, thinking patterns, and behaviors? (2) Did the program have an impact on post-termination rates of recidivism? and (3) For which types of offenders did the program work best?
Study Design View help for Study Design
To evaluate how well the Reasoning and Rehabilitation program worked in juvenile intensive supervision probation in Colorado, the researchers developed an experimental design whereby clients were randomly assigned to participate or not participate in the cognitive program. To measure the extent of change in attitudes and behaviors due to the program, clients in both the treatment and control groups were administered pre- and post-test interviews based on two instruments. The first was a slightly modified version of a semi-structured interview developed by the authors of the program as part of a larger cognitive skills assessment battery. The second instrument was a self-administered 70-item battery of statements measuring concepts related to crime and criminal attitudes that respondents were asked to rank on a Likert-scale format. These measures were designed to assess the extent of change in cognitive skills and functioning among the sample in nine areas: (1) ability to recognize that problems exist, (2) ability to solve interpersonal problems, (3) ability to think of and develop alternatives, (4) awareness of consequences, (5) ability to set and achieve goals, (6) level of egocentricity, (7) social perspective-taking, (8) level of impulsivity, and (9) cognitive style. To measure recidivism rates of juveniles in the sample, researchers conducted interviews with probation officers who supervised the offenders in the sample six months after termination from intensive probation. Recidivism was measured by rearrest for a new crime. These interviews were supplemented with administrative records data that provided background information about the sample. In addition, administrative data were collected on all juveniles sentenced to intensive supervision during fiscal years 1994 and 1995 to compare juveniles in the sample with all juveniles on probation.
Sample View help for Sample
Random sampling.
Universe View help for Universe
Juveniles sentenced to juvenile intensive supervision probation in Colorado between 1994 and 1995.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Source View help for Data Source
personal interviews, self-enumerated questionnaires, and administrative records
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
In Part 1, Pre- and Post-Test Data, variables include cognitive measures such as impulsivity, problem-solving ability, egocentricity, and cognitive style. Other variables measure emotional responses to various situations, attitudes toward the law, values, drug abuse, program participation, and recidivism. Part 2, Background Data, contains variables on age, ethnicity, index crime, risk score, and need score. Part 3, Juvenile Intensive Supervision Probation Data, contains information on all intensive supervision participants at the time of the study, including gender, age, and offense.
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
Not applicable.
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
Several Likert-type scales were used.
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
1999-11-02
Version History View help for Version History
- Pullen, Suzanne, and Kim English. EVALUATION OF THE REASONING AND REHABILITATION COGNITIVE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED IN JUVENILE INTENSIVE SUPERVISION PROBATION IN COLORADO, 1994-1995. ICPSR version. Denver, CO: Colorado Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Justice [producer], 1996. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1999. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR02028.v1
2006-03-30 File CB2028.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.
2005-11-04 On 2005-03-14 new files were added to one or more datasets. These files included additional setup files as well as one or more of the following: SAS program, SAS transport, SPSS portable, and Stata system files. The metadata record was revised 2005-11-04 to reflect these additions.
1999-11-02 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Standardized missing values.
- Performed recodes and/or calculated derived variables.
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.