Adaptive functioning (AF) has been overlooked in the assessment of intellectual disability within the UK Prison Service, primarily because there are no reliable and valid measures of AF suitable for use with prison populations. This position is incompatible with the obligation of Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service to provide specialist interventions for individuals with intellectual disabilities. This study assessed the psychometric properties of the Adaptive Functioning Assessment Tool (AFAT), a new measure of AF developed for use in prisons. The AFAT was completed on 61 participants (mean age 41, standard deviation 11.8). Internal consistency was tested using Cronbach's α. Construct validity was assessed using linear regression and a Receiver Operator Characteristic analysis. The findings provide evidence to support the AFAT being a reliable and valid measure of AF in prison populations.

Purpose Democratic Therapeutic Communities (TCs) provide an environment for offenders to work on longstanding emotional and relational problems and address their offending behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to explore the experience of making psychological changes on a TC from the perspective of residents. Design/methodology/approach Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to explore the experience of five former residents of the TC at HMP Gartree. Findings Four main themes emerged, each with two sub-themes: Motivation to Change (sub-themes: Engagement, Determination); Environment (sub-themes: Boundaries, Experience of care); Removal of Masks (sub-themes: Embracing vulnerability, Emerging authenticity) and Relationships (sub-themes: Re-enacting the past, Challenge from peers). Findings are discussed in relation to existing literature. Research limitations/implications Understanding service users perspectives on what helps facilitate change can help staff empathise with their experiences and strengthen their relationships. The importance of clear and consistent boundaries that are perceived as fair and the development of meaningful relationships with staff in creating an atmosphere that enables change has implications for other therapeutic or supportive environments. This research represents the experiences of five participants who were motivated to take part and comfortable to speak to a professional about their experiences. As such, generalisations about the wider TC population should be made cautiously and further research would be beneficial. Originality/value The research adds to the underrepresented area of service user perspectives in a forensic TC. It contributes a rich account of the experience of psychological change that can help staff working in TCs understand and relate to their residents experiences.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the social climate of therapeutic wings and mainstream wings within one prison, to identify positive areas of social climate that can be built upon and areas for improvement. Design/methodology/approach In total, 1,054 social climate questionnaires (the Essen Climate Evaluation Schema – EssenCES) were sent to prisoner-facing staff and all prisoners within an English Category B prison holding indeterminate sentenced prisoners. Perceptions of social climate on therapeutic wings and mainstream wings and perceptions of social climate between staff and prisoners were compared. Findings The results showed that the therapeutic wings felt safer, there were better staff-prisoner relationships and there was better peer support among prisoners than people on the mainstream wings. Also, prisoners felt safer than staff, staff rated the overall social climate as more positive than prisoners and staff felt that they supported prisoners, but prisoners did not feel the same. Research limitations/implications The main limitation is that the EssenCES measure does not explain the participants’ ratings of the social climate. Practical implications There is a need to transfer the principles and values of therapeutic wings to mainstream wings. In addition, there is significant room for improvement in the social climate of this prison. Originality/value This is the first study to compare the social climate of therapeutic and mainstream wings within one single prison. The research has a valuable contribution to the development of positive social climates conducive to better clinical outcomes.