Changes in positive and negative crime expectancies in inmates exposed to a brief psychoeducational intervention: further data

Results from an earlier study revealed that positive outcome expectancies for crime dropped in inmates exposed to a brief psychoeducational intervention but that negative outcome expectancies did not change. Utilizing an independent sample of inmates, the Outcome Expectancies for Crime (OEC) questionnaire was administered to program participants on three separate occasions: 10 weeks before the start of the group (waiting-list), during the first group session (pre-test), and during the final group session (post-test). After minor adjustments were made to the psychoeducational curriculum to better reflect the negative consequences of crime, participants experienced significant gains in negative crime expectancies. As in the previous study, post-test positive crime expectancies were lower than pre-test positive crime expectancies, although the difference was not statistically significant. A comparison of the waiting-list and pre-test evaluations showed that positive crime expectancies rose and negative crime expectancies fell in the 10 weeks preceding the psychoeducational intervention.