Activity Participation in Forensic Treatment Facilities Article Critique

A Critique of Activity Participation in Forensic Treatment Facilities

            The article I chose to critique dealt with forensics, a population I have not paid much attention to as of yet. The research done had the purpose of measuring participation in activities in forensic mental health facilities and its effects on the residents. Throughout the course of this paper, I will outline the research done, pinpoint a few of its strengths and weaknesses, and touch on implications that the research can have on the field of therapeutic recreation.

Summary

            Forensic mental health facilities have the purpose of treating defendants who have been deemed unable to go to trial so that they are able to eventually return to court and stand trial competently. As such, decreasing the length of stay (LOS) of residents in forensic mental health facilities is an area of interest to criminal systems (Messina & Iwasaki, 2013). One way in which LOS can potentially be decreased is through participation in therapeutic activity. The research in this article compared the effects of both a voluntary, referral-based activity program and a mandatory structured activity program on LOS and the level of participation of residents.

            In the voluntary program, residents were free to choose the amount of time they spent in recreation as well as which particular activities they participated in. This program was more individualized and allowed for more freedom than the mandatory program. In this setting, “higher total activity hours [were] predictive of greater participation” (Messina & Iwasaki, 2013, p. 205). If the participants had freely chosen to attend the activity, it was almost guaranteed that they would also participate in the activity. In the mandatory structured program, there were general goals for the residents as well as activities that were assigned to each building (Messina & Iwasaki, 2013). The activities in this program were less self-motivated but resulted in an increase in resident attendance as they were required. In this setting it was found that, even if the residents were at first reluctant to participate, they would eventually join in on activities and participation would increase over time (Messina & Iwasaki, 2013). In both the voluntary and mandatory settings studied, the LOS was decreased and competency levels were increased when activity participation was increased.

Strengths

            The researchers conducting this project had an impressive knowledge of how to use statistics, which they put to good use in obtaining data. Without this knowledge, the research would have been much more difficult because other, less quantitative methods of obtaining data would have had to be used. In addition, the researchers fully disclosed any limitations that they noticed in their research, which was quite refreshing. They did not try to hide it behind statistics or interesting outcomes of the research. Another strength was that the sample population was fairly representative of typical forensic populations, which makes the research more accurate and applicable in the area of forensics.  

Weaknesses

            One of the main weaknesses of this research was the fact that the statistical data that was obtained and analyzed was secondary data. While this data was useful, it would have been more accurate if at least some of this secondary data was supplemented by primary data from the residents. In addition to this, because so many numbers were used in the statistical analysis, there exists the possibility that some of the information may have been entered into the database incorrectly. This may have caused some of the data and the results drawn from it to be inaccurate. Another concern in the research method was that there were other treatments in addition to the activities that were studied in the research, ranging from medication to other therapies to trainings that could have impacted for the LOS of the participants and were not accounted for. Utilizing a control group that did not participate in the activities studied would have been beneficial because it could lessen the impact of this.

Implications

            The finding that LOS can be decreased for residents of forensic mental health facilities whether the program is voluntary or mandatory can have several implication for the field of therapeutic recreation. Perhaps the most obvious implication is that these results have the possibility to increase the focus that is placed on therapeutic activity programs in forensics as well as motivate such facilities to improve the quality of such programs. Additional research could be done in comparing the LOS and competency for participants in voluntary programs to those in mandatory programs. This could help facilities determine which type of program they should utilize in achieving their goals of increasing competency and decreasing LOS.  

Personal Reaction

            I had never considered the purpose or impact of the therapeutic recreation process in the area of forensics until our class watched the movie One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I had simply not considered the quality or need for activity programs in such locations. Reading this article showed me that this is a population that is often neglected, as not much research has been done regarding activity programs in forensics. This article expanded my view of the impact that therapeutic recreation can have across a variety of settings and populations.

Conclusion

            While the research method used in this article could use a few improvements, it has potential for benefiting both the therapeutic recreation process in forensics correction facilities as well as the lives and competencies of those who are treated there. The main purpose of the research, namely finding how activity participation affected the competency and LOS of the residents, was achieved. Improvements in LOS and competency of the residents was shown to be correlated with the purposeful activity that was incorporated into the participants’ lives. Further research could be done in different correctional forensics locations to further establish the findings presented in this article. 

References

Messina, E., & Iwasaki, Y. (2013). Analysis of participation levels in activity programming at a correctional mental health facility. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 47(3), 197-211.