ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes that correctional treatment has much to tell the authors about criminological theory. It explores the implications of rehabilitation for theories of crime in three stages. The chapter focuses on the status of correctional treatment research, examining its traditional neglect by criminologists and its resurgence as a body of literature that, if only grudgingly and gradually, is prompting more attention. It discusses the potential role of research on treatment interventions for "testing" criminological theories, conveying both what such studies can and cannot tell authors about the adequacy of explanatory models. The chapter assesses the extent to which specific theories are supported and challenged by findings from correctional rehabilitation research. In short, correctional treatment research should be viewed with appropriate caution. Social learning theory, however, also would predict that appropriate parental supervision and expressions of affection might be conduits through which prosocial values are expressed and prosocial behaviors modeled.
