Risk Factors & Needs of Justice-Involved
Adults
Central Eight and Big Four
The ‘Central Eight’ are evidence-based risk factors used to assess risk for future offending.1 These risk
factors are also often called ‘criminogenic needs’ and describe possible areas for intervention to reduce
recidivism. The Central Eight may then act as a reasonable starting point for understanding populationspecific outcomes. The first four factors listed are known as the ‘Big Four’ as they appear to have the
strongest positive relationship to recidivism. However, the ‘Big Four’ also represent areas where change
is the most difficult.
*Anti-social here refers to thinking or behavior which has a negative effect on others or society more generally. It
is the opposite of pro-social or benefitting society. It is not related to whether or not an individual spends time with
or enjoys the company of others.
History of Anti-Social Behavior
Individual has a criminal record or a history of committing illegal acts without being arrested.
Examples
Theft
Illegal Drug use or sale
Carrying a gun without a permit
Individual may also simply have a habit of committing acts which are harmful to others or remove their
ties to society but are not necessarily illegal.
Examples
Bullying or unwarranted aggressiveness against others
Abusing a substance like glue or cough syrup that is not illegal
Nuisance violations such as repeatedly being loud in a vehicle or on the street late at night
Loitering
Littering
Carrying or showing a fake firearm
Anti-social Personality Pattern
A pattern of behavior that involves manipulating, exploiting or violating the rights of others.2 The
individual does not need to meet full criteria for a diagnosis of Anti-Social Personality Disorder.
1
Andrews, D. A., & Bonta, J. (2010). The psychology of criminal conduct (5th ed.). Cincinnati, OH: Anderson
Publishing Company.
2
A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia. (2010, November 4). Antisocial personality disorder. Retrieved from PubMed
Health: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001919/
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Example
Scamming
Harmful teasing / verbal or emotional harassment
Taking advantage of the generosity of others
Lying/ storytelling
Anti-social Attitudes
Individual has a positive attitude or perception of anti-social/criminal behaviors
Examples
Sees violence or dealing is a way of gaining respect
Admiring people who commit violent or illegal acts
Emulating habits, speech or values of those who commit crimes
Anti-social Associates
Individual has family, friends and/or is associated with individuals who participate in anti-social and/or
criminal activities
Example
Person has friends, family members or a spouse that is using drugs
Friends steal from others
Siblings are in a gang
Family/Marital Factors
Extent and quality of the relationships that the prisoner/ex-offender has with family members or
significant other.
Example
Person is not close to their family or does not have a good relationship with their family
Person has had superficial romantic relationships if any
Relationships with their friends, family and/or significant other are not healthy or mutually supportive
The person does not value and care for the well-being of those close to them
Lack of Achievement in Education / Employment
Not having at least graduating from high school or receiving a GED and/or not having a significant
attachment to the legal workforce prior to or post-incarceration
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Prison inmates are on average less educated than the general population3
o Only 43% of prisoners report having the equivalent of a high school education before entering
prison.4
o In 2003, 19% of prisoners reported receiving their high school equivalent while incarcerated
Prison inmates have lower rate of literacy than the general population5
3
Andrews, D. A., & Bonta, J. (1994). The psychology of criminal conduct. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing.
Greenberg, E., Dunleavy, E., & Kutner, M. (2007). Literacy Behind Bars: Results From the 2003 National
Assessment of Adult Literacy Prison Survey. Washington, DC: National Center on Education Statistics.
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o Roughly 3% of the prison population is considered not literate6 meaning they cannot read or
write in English or Spanish
Finding stable employment has been cited as the single greatest barrier to the success of exoffenders in Missouri.7
Employment provides a legal and stable form of income
Incarceration and a criminal record construct major barriers to legal employment
Many businesses and occupations will not hire individuals with felony convictions
Example
Person did not graduate from high school/dropped out of school
Person has limited reading and writing skills
Person has never had a legal or over-the-counter job
Substance Abuse and Dependence (Drug or Alcohol Addiction)
Substance abuse or dependence is a maladaptive use of substances meeting criteria as defined by the
DSM-IV.8 The substance does not need to be illegal to be abused and may be prescribed.
While the use, possession and sale of some substances is itself a criminal offense, substance
involvement is also implicated the majority of crimes committed and the lead to incarceration in the
U.S.9
 Of these cases leading to incarceration, marijuana only accounts for 1%10
 In Missouri, 39% of prisoners were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of their
current offense11
 Nearly 28% of criminal justice involved persons in Missouri were convicted of a drug offense12
o 1/3 of all probationers
o Nearly 21% of those in prison
o Nearly 33% of those on probation
A nationwide study on the state of substance use in the American criminal justice system found that,
over the course of the lifetime, substance involved prisoners have more encounters with the criminal
justice system and those who commit crimes for the purpose of procuring more substances, indicating
addiction, have on average 6.6 arrests during their life.13
5
Greenberg, Dunleavy, & Kutner, 2007
Greenberg, Dunleavy, & Kutner, 2007
7
Insititute of Public Policy. (2011). Missouri Department of Corrections Community Reentry Funding Initiative
2010: Executive Summary. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri.
8
Full criteria can be found here: http://www.sis.indiana.edu/DSM-IV-Criteria.aspx
9
National Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention. (2010). Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America's
Prison Population. New York: Columbia University. Retrieved from http://www.casacolumbia.org/
10
National Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention, 2010
11
Trickey, M., Ashley, A., & Woodburn, J. (2005). Substance Abuse, Mental Illness, Crime and Incarceration.
Jefferson City, MO: Missouri Coalition of Community Mental Health Centers.
12
Trickey, Ashley, & Woodburn, 2005
13
Trickey, Ashley, & Woodburn, 2005
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This has lead to the fact that 2/3 of prisoners in the U.S. meet the DSM criteria for substance abuse
or dependence14
Nationally, only 11.2% of prisoners had received any type of professional treatment since
admission15
Only 16.6% of facilities offer treatment in specialized settings16
Few inmates have access to evidence-based services and few professionally trained staff are
available in institutions
Overdose is the single greatest killer of former prisoners within 2 years of their release17
Examples
Using illegal substances like heroin, methamphetamine or crack/cocaine
Not going to work or school because of being high
Feeling like being high is the only way to cope with stress
Using substances to avoid dealing with something in life
Using substances is affecting personal relationships
Continuing to use despite recognizing and having others recognize it isn’t healthy for you
Lack of Pro-social Leisure Activities
Pro-social leisure activities are activities taking place in the individual’s free time that do not promote
anti-social/maladaptive/illegal habits or activities.
Examples
Having a lot of unstructured free time
Not having some sort of hobby or interest that is not anti-social
Not belonging to anything beyond themselves such as a sport team, church, volunteer group
Other Human Needs
Mental Health
“Mental illness is a medical condition that disrupts a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to
others and daily functioning…Serious mental illnesses include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar
disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and
borderline personality disorder.”18
Compared to the general population, prisoners are 2-4 more likely to be diagnosed with a serious
mental illness, including depression.19
14
National Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention, 2010
National Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention, 2010
16
National Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention, 2010
17
Binswanger, I. A. (2007). Release from prison--a high risk of death for former inmates. New England Journal of
Medicine, 356(2), 157-165.
18
NAMI. (2013, January). What is Mental Illness? Retrieved from National Alliance for the Mentally Ill:
http://www.nami.org
19
Fazel, S., & Danesh, J. (2002). Serious mental disorder in 23,000 prisoners: a systematic review of 62 surveys.
Lancet, 359(9306), 545-550.
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This translates to roughly 1/3 of all prisoners in the U.S. having been diagnosed with a mental
illness20
There are 3 times more persons with mental illness in prisons than in psychiatric institutions21
Of these, ¼ have a co-occurring substance use disorder22
 Rates are closer to 70% in jails23
Approximately 7,200 adults with mental illness were incarcerated in Missouri in 200824
 15% of inmates in 2002 were identified as needing mental health treatment25
Health
Many ex-offenders experience barriers to adequate health care before incarceration and are not
adequately transitioned to care upon release.26
Individuals who have been incarcerated report higher rates of chronic and infectious disease than the
general population.27
Ex-offenders are likely to not be employed or of being underemployed meaning that they often do not
have health insurance through their employment or sufficient income to pay for regular healthcare.28
Missouri could opt out of Medicaid expansion that increases insurance coverage to many ex-offenders
who meet new federal income guidelines.29 Even if Medicaid is expanded in Missouri, incarcerated
individuals are not eligible for Medicaid coverage. It could take months for someone to become insured
upon release even with sufficient resources. Likewise, individuals spending more than a month in jail or
prison are exempt from the national insurance requirement while incarcerated.
Housing
20
National Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention, 2010
Abramsky, S., & Fellner, J. (2003). Ill equipped: U.S. prisons and and offenders with mental illness. New York, NY:
Human Rights Watch.
22
National Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention, 2010;
Lurigio, A. (2011). People with serious mental illness in the criminal justice system: Causes, consequences, and
correctives . The Prison Journal, 91(3), 66S-86S. doi:10.1177/0032885511415226
23
Scott, W. (2008). Effective Clinical Practices in Treating Clients in the Criminal Justice System. Washington, DC:
National Institute of Corrections.
24
NAMI. (2010). State Statistics: Missouri. Arlington, VA: National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
25
Trickey, Ashley, & Woodburn, 2005
26
Solomon, A. L., Visher, C., La Vigne, N. G., & Osborne, J. (2006). Understanding the Challenges of Prisoner
Reentry: Research Findings from the Urban Institute's Prisoner Reentry Portfolio. Washington, DC: Urban Institute.
Retrieved from http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=411289
27
DiPietro, B., Eggleston, A., & Osher, F. (2011). Implications of the Federal Health Legislation on Justice-Involved
Populations. New York: Council of State Governments.
28
DiPietro, Eggleston, & Osher, 2011
29
DiPietro, Eggleston, & Osher, 2011
21
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There is significant overlap between ex-offender and homeless populations in many cities.30
The majority of ex-offenders claim housing is an important factor for them to remain out of prison.31
 The first 30 days post-incarceration are a critical intervention period where stable housing is
critical to help ex-offenders weather other shocks of community adjustment32
Despite the importance of housing in providing stability for ex-offenders, housing options available are
extremely limited33
 Most ex-offenders live with family members when they return home after prison
 Some ex-offenders are restricted from participating in federally-subsidized housing
Many ex-offenders report that they are returning to temporary housing options and have multiple
addresses within their first year of release34
Life Skills
Life skills courses and programs vary widely but often focus on changing ineffective or negative thinking
and behavior patterns. Programs can be peer-based such as mentoring or more formal behavioral
interventions.
Soft Skills
Informal employment and interpersonal skills that promote positive pro-social involvement such as time
and conflict management
Parenting Skills
Support and skill building around the parent role.
Mentoring
Providing informal support and modeling pro-social behaviors.
Basic Needs
Basic needs are things required to live day to day functionally and healthily within society. Some
examples are below.
 Food
 Clothing
 Utilities
 Transportation
 School supplies
 Day care
30
Cho, R., Gary, D., Ball, L., & Ladov, M. (2002). A Guide to Reentry Supportive Housing: A three part primer for
non-profit supportive housing developers, social service providers, and their government partners. New York, NY:
Corporation for Supportive Housing.
31
Urban Institute. (2012). Housing and Reentry. Retrieved from The Urban Institute:
http://www.urban.org/projects/reentry-portfolio/housing.cfm
32
Cho, Gary, Ball, & Ladov, 2002
33
Urban Institute, 2012
34
Urban Institute, 2012
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