Mothering Behind Bars: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Prison Nursery Programs on Recidivism Reduction
Department
Sociology and Criminal Justice
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-1-2019
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive evidence-based review of evaluation studies of prison nursery programs to determine whether they are effective in reducing recidivism. Seven studies evaluating the effectiveness of prison nursery programs are examined and classified using the Maryland Scientific Methods Scale. The results show some empirical evidence for the capacity of prison nursery programs to reduce recidivism. However, weak methodological research designs and insufficient statistical analyses led us to classify the effectiveness of prison nursery programs as “unknown.” Suggestions for improving the methodological quality of studies examining prison nursery programs and directions for future research are discussed.
Journal Title
The Prison Journal
Journal ISSN
0032-8855,1552-7522
Volume
99
Issue
5
First Page
572
Last Page
592
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1177/0032885519875037