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A soccer-based intervention improves incarcerated individuals’ behaviour and public acceptance through group bonding

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  • Martha Newson

    (University of Oxford)

  • Linus Peitz

    (University of Oxford
    University of Greenwich)

  • Jack Cunliffe

    (University of Kent)

  • Harvey Whitehouse

    (University of Oxford)

Abstract

As incarceration rates rise globally, the need to reduce re-offending grows increasingly urgent. We investigate whether positive group bonds can improve behaviours among incarcerated people via a unique soccer-based prison intervention, the Twinning Project. We analyse effects of participation compared to a control group (study 1, n = 676, n = 1,874 control cases) and longitudinal patterns of social cohesion underlying these effects (study 2, n = 388) in the United Kingdom. We also explore desistance from crime after release (study 3, n = 249) in the United Kingdom and the United States. As law-abiding behaviour also requires a supportive receiving community, we assessed factors influencing willingness to employ formerly incarcerated people in online samples in the United Kingdom and the United States (studies 4–9, n = 1,797). Results indicate that social bonding relates to both improved behaviour within prison and increased willingness of receiving communities to support re-integration efforts. Harnessing the power of group identities both within prison and receiving communities can help to address the global incarceration crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Martha Newson & Linus Peitz & Jack Cunliffe & Harvey Whitehouse, 2024. "A soccer-based intervention improves incarcerated individuals’ behaviour and public acceptance through group bonding," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 8(12), pages 2304-2313, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nathum:v:8:y:2024:i:12:d:10.1038_s41562-024-02006-3
    DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-02006-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David J. Harding & Jessica J. B. Wyse & Cheyney Dobson & Jeffrey D. Morenoff, 2014. "Making Ends Meet After Prison," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 440-470, March.
    2. Decker, Scott H. & Ortiz, Natalie & Spohn, Cassia & Hedberg, Eric, 2015. "Criminal stigma, race, and ethnicity: The consequences of imprisonment for employment," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 108-121.
    3. King, Gary & Nielsen, Richard, 2019. "Why Propensity Scores Should Not Be Used for Matching," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(4), pages 435-454, October.
    4. Martha Newson & Michael Buhrmester & Harvey Whitehouse, 2016. "Explaining Lifelong Loyalty: The Role of Identity Fusion and Self-Shaping Group Events," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(8), pages 1-13, August.
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