Measuring hope: is hope related to criminal behaviour in offenders?

In contrast to growing regard for the psychological construct of hope in medical and psychological arenas, hope has not yet found a permanent place in the field of criminology. Traditionally, treatment programs and risk assessment tools have focused on the deficits that criminal offenders possess. However, the orientation of our approach to corrections has recently shifted to embrace more strengths-based, offender-focused programming designed to rehabilitate offenders. The assessment for risk for recidivism has been slower to make this transition and use research supporting the use of more dynamic risk factors for reducing reoffending. This study investigates the nature of hope in offenders in relation to their risk for future criminal behaviour. The results indicate that hope is indeed related to the risk for reoffending. The information obtained through this research will inform researchers and clinicians about the nature of hope in a correctional population and its relation with risk for future criminal behaviour.