1	The Enlightened Sentencing Project Graduate Test Results Update John Sterling, Ph.D. August 29, 2005
2	Presentation Overview The goal of The Enlightened Sentencing Project (TESP) is to impact behavior resulting in a reduction of recidivism among participants. One precursor of behavior is overall psychological health and mental outlook. Impulsivity & Hostility/ Aggressiveness are highly correlated with criminal conduct This presentation covers the findings of psychological tests administered to TESP participants.
3	Background All participants in The Enlightened Sentencing Program (TESP) complete a battery of psychological tests covering: Impulsivity Aggression Feelings of Control
4	Background (Continued) The test battery is administered twice: Prior to initiation into the program Following completion of the program Results of the “Pre-” and “Post-” Tests are compared to see if there has been an improvement
5	Previous Findings A group of 45 initial participants in TESP were evaluated and reported previously. These initial findings showed significant improvement of the participants on all psychological scales Nearly all of the “subscales” that evaluated specific aspects of psychological health also showed significant improvement
6	Current Findings Since the initial findings were reported, an additional 59 participants have completed the battery of tests. Average Test scores are reported here “Low” scores are preferred
7	Current Findings: Impulsivity Test Participants showed significantly improved scores on Impulsivity (p<.001)
8	Current Findings: Aggression Test Participants showed significantly improved scores on Aggressiveness (p<.001).
9	Current Findings: Feelings of Control* Participants showed significantly improved scores on Feelings of Control (p<.001)
10	Summary of Findings Consistent with the earlier findings, significantly improved scores were observed for all three tests: Impulsivity Aggressiveness Feelings of Control
11	Next Steps Future evaluation of The Enlightened Sentencing Program can be improved by the inclusion of a “Control” group not initiated into the program. Ideally, selected from the same pool of participants as those who are initiated Could be selected on some random criteria such as SS# odd/even last digit
12	Proposed Methodology Pool of potential participants selected All respondents tested Randomly assigned to Test & Control Groups “Test” group begins the program immediately Upon completion of program by test group, both groups re-tested “Control” group begins program and is re-tested upon completion Allows all potential participants to receive the benefit of the program