A failure to maintain regulated exposure: Developing an understanding of the predictors and recidivistic effects of experiencing program interruptions

At the forefront of current correctional scholarship is the reestablishment of the rehabilitative ideal and the ways in which correctional departments can influence recidivism. Of importance is the interruption of rehabilitative treatment due to highly frequent movement of inmates between correctional facilities. To address this concern, the current study evaluated the predictors and recidivistic effects of program interruption due to transfer. Analyses of 42,112 inmates incarcerated in a large Midwestern state suggested that various individual level characteristics predicted experiencing a program interruption. However, experiencing a single or persistent pattern of program interruption had no effect on recidivism.