A Systematic Review of Interventions That Adopt the “Good Lives” Approach to Offender Rehabilitation

This systematic review investigates if interventions adopting the "good lives" approach to offender rehabilitation are effective at reducing recidivism. Keyword searches were executed on electronic databases and online libraries, correctional experts and agencies were contacted, reference harvesting and a Google search were conducted, and two relevant journals were hand-searched, to locate relevant research. The main reviewer screened potential studies for relevance. Two reviewers independently assessed for eligibility. No eligible studies were found; there is yet no high quality evidence that "good lives" type interventions reduce recidivism. However, four excluded studies offer tentative evidence for the potential in improving treatment engagement, enhancing motivation and lowering participant attrition. Pending strong empirical support, interventions that adopt a "good lives" approach should be accompanied by practices with a demonstrated impact on recidivism. Future evaluations should utilize rigorous methods and measure recidivism to allow a systematic assessment of its effectiveness. © 2014 Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.