Probation/Parole Officer Interactions with Women Offenders, Michigan, 2011-2014

The purpose of the Probation/Parole Officer Interactions with Women Offenders project was to better understand the nature of probation/parole agent interactions with substance-involved women offenders and the degree to which these interactions predict women's recidivism, rules violation, and changes in their crime-related needs. Other purposes were to examine whether (1) women's feelings of self-efficacy, anxiety, and reactance that may be elicited by the agent-offender interactions explained (i.e., mediated) the link between the nature of these interactions and women's outcomes; (2) the amount of communication about needs predicted outcomes; (3) initial levels of needs and quality of women's social networks moderated the relationship between agent-offender interactions and outcomes; (4) agents' and women's experience of their relationship were similar, and whose perspective (agent or offender) best predicted offender outcomes; and (5) particular agent attributes (e.g., years of experience, self-reported typical style of interacting with clients) predicted agents' average effectiveness across clients.
Seventy-three probation and parole agents with women-specific caseloads were sampled and recruited from 16 Michigan counties; and then 402 offenders meeting participant criteria were recruited from the caseloads. At recruitment of agents, a survey collected information about their characteristics. Two or three months later, client needs and social networks were measured in an interview with the offenders. At month 5, agent and woman reports of relationship and communication were measured, and woman reports of reactions to these were measured. A survey was used to collect agent data, and an interview was used to collect offender data. At month 8, psychosocial outcomes, treatment engagement, crime-causing needs, and official outcomes (e.g., arrest) were measured. For the 24 months from the start of supervision, official data were collected on arrests and convictions.

本项目为「女性服刑人员与缓刑/假释官员互动」研究项目（Probation/Parole Officer Interactions with Women Offenders Project），旨在深入探析缓刑/假释官员与存在物质使用问题的女性服刑人员之间互动的本质，以及此类互动对女性服刑人员再犯（recidivism）、监管违规及犯罪相关需求变化的预测程度。本项目的其他研究目标包括：1. 探究官员与服刑人员的互动所引发的女性自我效能感（self-efficacy）、焦虑情绪与心理抗拒（reactance），是否作为中介变量解释了这类互动性质与女性服刑结果之间的关联；2. 考察需求相关沟通的频次是否能够预测服刑结果；3. 分析初始需求水平与女性社会网络质量，是否对官员-服刑人员互动与服刑结果之间的关系起到调节作用；4. 验证官员与服刑人员对双方互动关系的感知是否一致，并明确哪一方的视角更能精准预测服刑人员的后续结果；5. 研究特定的官员个体特征（如从业年限、自我报告的典型客户沟通风格）是否能够预测其在所有服务对象中的平均履职效能。本研究的样本招募与数据收集流程如下：从密歇根州16个县招募了73名专门负责女性服刑人员监管的缓刑/假释官员，随后从这些官员的服务对象清单（caseload）中招募了402名符合参与标准的服刑人员。在官员招募阶段，通过问卷调查收集其个人特征信息。两至三个月后，通过与服刑人员进行访谈，评估其犯罪相关需求状况与社会网络质量。在项目开展第5个月时，分别收集官员与服刑人员对双方互动关系与沟通情况的报告，同时收集服刑人员对此次互动的反应相关数据；其中官员数据通过问卷调查获取，服刑人员数据通过访谈获取。项目开展第8个月时，评估其社会心理结局、治疗参与度、致罪需求以及官方记录的结局（如被捕情况）。在监管开始后的24个月内，持续收集服刑人员的被捕与定罪相关官方记录数据。