Keywords

Public service motivation, prisoner reentry, public administration, criminal justice, decision making

Abstract

The goal of this exploratory study is to examine the effects of public service motivation (PSM) in predicting decision-making of criminal justice personnel (reentry managers) in the management of former prisoners. The overarching research question seeks to answer if, and in what way, PSM score influences reentry managers' approach to their work with the formerly incarcerated, who are in transition from prison back into the community. The main assumption of this study is that those reentry managers with a higher PSM score will be more inclined to take an assistance oriented approach with former prisoners and be more likely to make rehabilitative decisions than those with lower PSM scores, who will be more inclined to assume a punitive role. This study utilized binomial logistic regression and chi-square analysis to test hypotheses. Survey data was collected over a period of three months in the summer and fall of 2014, and was based upon a national sample of 108 reentry managers whose agencies had received funding from a federal reentry grant. Follow-up interviews were also conducted with nine participants to provide deeper understanding of responses and explain some of the quantitative findings. Overall findings supported the key assumption with the overall sample possessing medium to high PSM scores and a greater frequency of making rehabilitative decisions.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2015

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Kapucu, Naim

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Health and Public Affairs

Degree Program

Public Affairs; Public Administration

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0006050

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0006050

Language

English

Release Date

November 2015

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Health and Public Affairs; Health and Public Affairs -- Dissertations, Academic

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