ABSTRACT
Offender treatment programmes are generally education-based, and designed to eliminate problematic attitudes and behaviours, or to teach skills to reduce offenders’ risk of reoffending. These programmes often rest on an assumption that offenders will understand the benefits of the information introduced to them, be interested in the content, and use it to alter their behaviour or improve their circumstances. Maruna (2001) has pointed out, however, that traditional treatment goals often fail to appeal to offenders or are viewed to be irrelevant. Similarly, others have emphasised that offenders’ lack of engagement in treatment undermines treatment completion and outcomes (e.g., Olver, Stockdale & Wormith, 2011). Consequently, offenders cannot be assumed to be intrinsically motivated to change (e.g., Scott & King, 2007).
