Citation

Zgoba KM, Haugebrook S, Jenkins K. Crim. Justice Behav. 2008; 35(3): 375-387.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0093854807311853

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The focal point of this study is the effect of General Education Development / General Equivalency Degree (GED) obtainment on inmate recidivism, using data from 403 offenders released from New Jersey correctional institutions in 1999 and 2000.

RESULTS indicate that leaving prison with at least the equivalent of a high school diploma improves significantly the chances that an ex-offender will not recidivate. Although an offender's participation in GED programming is predictive of no recidivism, once an offender does recidivate, the value of the GED participation depreciates and has no discernible effect on the raw number of reoffenses. Therefore, GED participation is an insignificant predictor of the number of postrelease arrests.

Language: en