The effects of peer inclusion in the design and implementation of university prison programming: A participatory action research, randomized vignette study.

Abstract

Objective: Including people most impacted by a challenge in designing and implementing solutions to that challenge has reemerged in social science research. In prison settings, academics’ outside knowledge of “what works” combined with incarcerated people’s inside knowledge of lived experience could lead to more comprehensive rehabilitative programs. This combined approach may make less sense as an intervention in prison, however, due to sensitive and complicated interpersonal dynamics. We determine if incarcerated women perceive prison programs as more efficacious when other incarcerated women are collaboratively involved in the design and implementation of those programs, as compared to other program delivery methods. Methods: We employ a participatory action research framework in administering a randomized vignette to 200 incarcerated women. We randomize who designs and teaches a prison program in a hypothetical scenario, with incarcerated women alongside university researchers the key combined condition of interest. We then ask a series of questions regarding incarcerated women’s perception of the program’s efficacy. Results: Women who received the combined condition were four times more likely to view the program as legitimate when compared to programs taught by correctional staff. The combined condition was not significantly different on legitimacy when compared to either researchers alone or incarcerated women alone. We did not observe other expected relationships between the combined condition and perceived program efficacy. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: Researcher and incarcerated person-led programming should be implemented carefully in institutional settings to leverage the value of lived experience while avoiding creating further harm for confined people.