NCJ Number
239254
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 76 Issue: 1 Dated: June 2012 Pages: 35-39
Date Published
June 2012
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This study examined probationers' perceptions of their relationships with their probation officers (POs) and its association with their perception of the helpfulness of probation.
Abstract
As measured by a brief survey, PO-probationer relationships marked by qualities common to the working alliance identified in psychotherapy - such as trust, respect, and mutually agreed-upon goals - correlated with and were predictive of probationer's perceptions of the overall helpfulness of probation. The PO-probationer relationship was a better predictor of perceived helpfulness than demographic or probation characteristics. The study did not find that the PO-probationer relationship differed as a function of probationer race, age, gender, number of times on probation, or the number of probation officers they had been assigned. Study participants were probationers reporting to three Connecticut probation offices on the days that the study survey was administered. A total of 202 adult probationers consented to complete the survey. The client satisfaction survey was based on one used by Cherkos and colleagues (2008) due to its brevity, ease of comprehension, and focus on the PO-probationer relationship. 3 tables and 15 references