Gussak, D. (2009). Comparing the effectiveness of art therapy in depression and locus of control of male and female inmates. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 36, 202-207.

Author Affiliations: The Florida State University
Artforms: Art therapy, drawing, visual arts
Program: NA
Program Description: Visual art therapy program
Program (Study) Location: Two medium- to maximum-security adult correctional facilities, Florida
Study Published: 2009
Participant Type: Male and female adult inmates, aged 20-51
Sample Size: 147 female, 72 male
Data Type: Qualitative, Quantitative: Control group pre and post-test design; psychological assessments using The Beck Inventory-Short form (BDI-II) and Adult Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale (ANS)
Evaluation Focus: The study evaluated changes in mood and locus of control among both male and female inmates who participated in the arts program. It also looked at differences in outcomes between male and female participants.

Summary of Impact: Both male and female participants showed improvements in mood and locus of control. The data indicated a trend towards greater improvement in mood and internal locus of control for female inmates as a result of the participation in the visual art therapy program (p. 202).

KEYWORDS: adult, art therapy, depression, drawing, locus of control, mood, visual arts

23. Hart, S. (Ed.). (1983). The arts in prison. New York: Center for Advanced Study in Theater Arts, The City University.

Author Affiliations: Center for Advanced Study in Theatre Arts, Graduate School of the City University of New York
Artforms: Dance, drama, jewelry and miscellaneous arts and crafts, film, music, painting, sculpture, theater, video, writing
Program: The Theater in Prisons Project (TTIPP)
Program Description: From its inception in 1980, TTIPP worked to develop a comprehensive archive concerning arts programs and artist practitioners working with prison inmates and ex-inmates (p. 36). This study was designed to be the first of its kind to provide evidence of the impact of the arts in corrections.
Program (Study) Location: All U.S. states, except Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts, Ohio, West Virginia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Study Published: 1983
Participant Type: State and local correctional departments, individual correctional institutions
Sample Size: 88 institutions
Data Type: Survey
Evaluation Focus: Survey questions were designed to establish how much art and what type – specifically theater – was available through performances, workshops and residencies in institutions across the U.S. Questions related to the following areas of inquiry: (1)What programs are available, how did they develop, and how supported; (2) In what ways do the programs continue with the inmate-participant after he or she leaves the prison; and, (3) Are arts programs in correctional facilities perceived as beneficial. The report provides detailed data from survey results from each participating state and agency, including history of programs, funding, types of activities, and attitude towards the arts (p. 23-24).

Hassett, R. (n.d.). Lynn-Lowell Statistics : 1992 through March 2002. Changing Lives Through Literature.

Author Affiliations: Assistant Chief Probation Officer, Lowell District Court, Massachusetts
Artforms: Bibliotherapy, literature
Program: Changing Lives Through Literature (CLTL), Lynn-Lowell Women’s Program
Program Description: The Lynn-Lowell program, established in 1992, was the first CLTL program for female offenders. Two programs are run per year. Groups meet every other week for 14 weeks (seven sessions) at Middlesex Community College in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Program (Study) Location: Lowell and Lynn, Massachusetts
Participant Type: Adult female probationers aged 19-48 years
Sample Size: 108
Study Published: Unpublished study, data collected 1992 through March 2002 Data Type: Quantitative
Evaluation Focus: Recidivism, criminal activity

Jarjoura, R. G., & Krumholz, S. T. (1998). Combining Bibliotherapy and Positive Role Modeling as an Alternative to Incarceration. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 28 (1/2), 127-139.

Author Affiliations: Indiana University (Jarjoura); University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth (Krumholz)
Artforms: Bibliotherapy, literature
Program: Changing Lives Through Literature (CLTL), University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth
Program Description: CLTL provides an alternative to incarceration for repeat, high-risk offenders and “seeks to build self-esteem by enhancing participants’ communication skills, sharpening their analytical skills and providing them with a forum for discussing personal concerns without having to recount personal experiences. Participants selected by the court receive intensive probation, pre-employment/job placement services and meet every other week on a university campus to discuss contemporary literature. The readings and the discussions mirror themes the participants may be dealing with in their own lives, such as violence, masculinity and individual identity. At the conclusion of the bibliotherapeutic portion of the program, local businessmen meet with participants to share their own life experiences and stories of success.
Program (Study) Location: Southeastern Massachusetts
Study Published: 1998
Participant Type: Male adult high-risk probationers
Sample Size: 72 (32 participants, 40 control)
Data Type: Quantitative, Qualitative: Analysis of criminal records Evaluation Focus: Recidivism, individual growth, self-esteem

Kelly, W. R. (n.d.) An Evaluation of the Changing Lives Through Literature Program. Submitted To: Dr. Lawrence Jablecki, Director Brazoria County Community Supervision and Corrections Department.

Author Affiliations: University of Texas
Artforms: Bibliotherapy, literature
Program: Brazoria County Community Supervision and Corrections Department Changing Lives Through Literature ( CLTL) Program
Program Description: The CLTL program in Brazoria County, Texas was adapted from the original Massachusetts program and “uses literature as a vehicle for cognitive and behavioral change.” The Texas program lasts six weeks and consists of weekly, two-hour meetings during which participants engage in facilitated discussion of a reading assignment “focused on the development over time of cognitive skills such as critical thinking and problem solving, as well as self examination, insight, awareness, etc.” Meetings take place on the campus of a local community college. Reading assignments differ by gender; males typically read philosophy such as Plato and Socrates, and females read contemporary gender-targeted works such as Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston.
Program (Study) Location: Brazoria County, Texas
Participant Type: Probationers, Probation Officers, and Judges
Sample Size: 49 Probationers, 8 Probation Officers, 2 Judges
Study Published: n.d.
Data Type: Qualitative: focus groups
Evaluation Focus: Perceptions of C LTL program by former inmates focusing on how CLTL changed or impacted their lives. For Probation Officers and Judges, the focus of the evaluation was on the overall perception of the CLTL program.

                                       
Littman, Danielle Maude and Sliva, Shannon. (2021). ”The walls came down:” A Mixed-Methods Multi-Site Prison Arts Program Evaluation. Justice Evaluation Journal, 1-23.

Author Affiliations: University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work
Artforms: Creative writing, literature, movement, music, theater  
Program: University of Denver Prison Arts Initiative (DU PAI)
Program Description: DU PAI is a partnership between the University of Denver and the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) and currently offers programming at 11 CDOC facilities. Programs are semester-long and include a newspaper program, arts-based workshops (theater, creative writing, music, literature, movement, dance and cross-disciplinary), full-length production processes and a podcast. The DU PAI program strives to create “creative and collaborative learning experiences that enrich the lives of incarcerated people” and “build collaborative communities that serve as spaces for therapeutic healing and innovative thinking” (p. 4).
Program (Study) Location: 8 Colorado Department of Corrections facilities
Participant Type: Male and female adult offenders
Sample Size: 146 pre-test; 117 post-test
Study Published: January 7, 2021
Data Type: Mixed methods quantitative and qualitative pre- and post-test evaluations 
Evaluation Focus: Impact of the arts program particularly on artistic identity, connection and community, skill attainment and social emotional growth 

Summary of Impact: Quantitative findings included statistically significant improvements in measures of self-efficacy, community connection and skill attainment. Qualitative results indicated that participants experienced learning, growth and discovery; opening up; authentic self-expression; empathy and perspective taking; belonging and connection; creative collaboration; and joy and freedom. The indicated that the programs fostered participation, caring, respect, and emotional involvement.
   
KEYWORDS: adult, artistic identity, belonging community, conflict resolution, connection cross-disciplinary, creative writing, emotional growth, empathy, identity, literacy, movement, music, participation, problem solving, respect, self-efficacy, skill attainment, social relations, theater, University of Denver Prison Arts Initiative

Melnick, M. (1984). Skills through drama: The use of professional techniques in the treatment and education of prison and ex-offender populations. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama and Sociometry, 37, 104-117.

Author Affiliations: New York City-based private consultant at time of study, presently at New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University
Artforms: Drama, psychodrama, theater
Program: Skills through Drama
Program Description: The Skills through Drama program employed professional theater techniques to teach reading, writing, grammar and communication skills. Specifically, participants were instructed to:
●  Create an improvisational set-up with a partner
●  Act out the set-up
●  Transcribe one’s own scene
●  Edit the scene
●  Help another student transcribe or edit
●  View another student’s scene
Program (Study) Location: Adult Learning Center, Queens House of Detention Location: Queens, New York
Study Published: 1984
Participant Type: Adult inmates and ex-offenders
Sample Size: 300+
Data Type: Quantitative
●  Pre- and post-participation administration of California Achievement Test
●  Enrollment rates between 1975 and 1976 Fiscal Years
●  Recidivism rates of 1978-79 drama workshop participants seven months after workshop
Evaluation Focus: Participation and effectiveness of the Skills through Drama program related to basic educational skills and outcomes.

Summary of Impact:
●  Number of students participating in GED program more than doubled (from 121 students in 1975 to 349 in 1976) while the total number of student hours spent in the program increased from 22,880 hours in 1975 to 47,376 hours in 1976.
●  69% of participants stayed with the workshop even after it terminated its affiliation with the Adult Learning Center.
●  At the end of the seven months, 7.15% of participants had been convicted on a first charge; 14.30% fled to avoid trial; 7.15% returned to jail on a second post-workshop charge; 71.40% were regularly employed and not charged with a second offense. This is compared with a national average of 85% of those released from prison experiencing rearrest within a year, most of those within the first four months of release.

KEYWORDS: academic achievement, adult, attendance, communication, drama, employment, psychodrama, reading, recidivism, Skills through Drama, theater, writing

Messerschmidt, Edward, D. (2017). Change Is Gonna Come: A mixed methods examination of people’s attitudes toward prisoners after experiences with a prison choir. Boston University College of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.

Author Affiliations: Boston University
Artforms: Choir, music
Program: Doctoral Dissertation
Program Description: Community-member and prisoner choir
Program (Study) Location: Four Midwestern minimum-security correctional facilities
Participant Type: Court-detained juveniles and adults, both men and women, aged 13-18
Study Published: 2017
Participant Type: Non-incarcerated volunteer singers from four prison choirs; community choir members with no prior prison experience (controls); non-incarcerated adult audience members at a prison choir concert.
Sample Size: 41 non-incarcerated volunteer singers; 19 community controls 78 non-incarcerated audience members
Data Type: Mixed-method-qualitative/quantitative using Attitude Toward Prisoners Scale (ATPS). In part 1 of the study, the volunteer singers completed the ATPS and answered open-ended questions after performing with a joint community-prison choir. The control group completed the ATPS after performing with a non-prison-based choir. In part 2, audience members completed the ATPS before and after attending a community-prison choir concert. They also answered open-ended questions regarding their experience.
Evaluation Focus: “The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of (a) singing with incarcerated choir members and (b) listening to a live prison choir performance on non-incarcerated people, focusing particularly on the effects of such experiences on participants’ attitudes towards prisoners.” 
Research questions were:
● How do the ATPS scores of the volunteer prison choir singers compare to the ATPS scores of the control group? What is the relationship between participation in a prison choir and ATPS scores?
● What relationship if any, is there between the number of concerts the volunteer singers have sung with a prison choir and their ATPS scores?
● What changes, if any, are there between audience members’ pre-test and post-test responses to the ATPS (Melvin et al., 1985)?
● What effects, if any, do volunteer singers and audience members report regarding their experiences with a prison choir?

Summary of Impact: The research found that non-incarcerated people can change their attitudes toward prisoners through experiences with a prison choir. Specific findings include:
● Part 1: A non-significant difference between the ATPS scores of non-incarcerated volunteer prison-choir singers and non-prison-based community choristers; 69.2% of the volunteer prison choir singers reported that their attitudes toward prisoners had grown more positive since joining a prison choir.
● Part 2: ATPS scores of audience members were significantly more positive after attending the prison choir concert.

KEYWORDS: adult, choir, music, singing, social interactions, stigma