Can Yoga Overcome Criminality? The Impact of Yoga on Recidivism in Israeli Prisons

• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X20914494
• Author: Shaked Kovalsky,Noam Haviv,Badi Hasisi,Ety Elisha
• Date: 01 May 2021
• Published date: 01 May 2021
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X20914494

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2021, Vol. 65(6-7) 671 –691

© The Author(s) 2020

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X20914494

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Article

Can Yoga Overcome

Criminality? The Impact

of Yoga on Recidivism in

Israeli Prisons

Shaked Kovalsky1, Badi Hasisi1,

Noam Haviv1,2 , and Ety Elisha3

Abstract

In recent years, yoga practices have been integrated into informal education programs

of the Israel Prison Service (IPS), given rise to innovative criminological theories such

as positive criminology that emphasize the development of offenders’ strengths by

facilitating rehabilitation and reintegration processes. The purpose of the present

study was to examine the correlation between yoga practice and recidivism among

released prisoners who participated in yoga programs during their incarceration in

comparison with a matched control group of those who did not participate in yoga

programs over a follow-up period of 5 years. To examine the effectiveness of the

program, propensity-score matching was used to compile the comparison group

from among all convicted prisoners who were released from the Israeli prisons.

Study results indicate that yoga may impact recidivism, supported by a finding of

lower recidivism rates among released prisoners who had practiced yoga during their

incarceration, compared with the matched control group. However, further study

is needed including randomized controlled trials (RCTs). In light of these positive

results, we recommend policy makers consider introducing alternative practices such

as yoga in prisons, in recognition of its contribution to the rehabilitation process

through the development of personal and social strengths.

Keywords

Keywords, yoga, prison, prisoners, rehabilitation, positive criminology, spirituality

1The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

2Ashkelon Academic College, Israel

3The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Israel

Corresponding Author:

Ety Elisha, Department of Criminology, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, 1930600, Israel.

Email: etye@yvc.ac.il

914494IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X20914494International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyKovalsky et al.

research-article2020

672 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 65(6-7)

Introduction

Returning to incarceration is an enduring problem in many countries. For example, in

the United States, 45% of released prisoners between the years 2005 and 2010 were

reincarcerated within 5 years after their release (Fazel & Wolf, 2015; Pew Center on

the States, 2011). Similarly, data of the Israel Prison Service (IPS) reveal that 41.3%

of prisoners in the country return to prison within 5 years of their release (Berman &

Walk, 2015). These high recidivism rates indicate the existence of a recurring prob-

lematic pattern that entails high social and economic costs (MacKenzie, 2006; Zara &

Farrington, 2015).

As part of an attempt to address this recidivism issue, together with the growing

emphasis on prisoner rights, prisons in the Western world offer a variety of rehabilita-

tion programs aimed at assisting people who are incarcerated and ex-prisoners with

recovery and reintegration into society through the acquisition of certain life skills

(Andrews et al., 1990, 2011; Enosh et al., 2013; Lipsey & Cullen, 2007; MacKenzie,

2006; McGuire, 2003; Shoham et al., 2017, 2018). The objectives of such programs

include, inter alia, changing prisoners’ state of mind, reducing risk factors in their

lives, and developing prosocial skills, which, in turn, are designed to reduce and stop

antisocial behaviors (Ross, 1980; Ross & Hilborn, 2008).

In addition, in recent years, the criminological discourse has brought into focus

various rehabilitative theories and approaches from positive perspectives such as

desistance from crime (Maruna, 2001; Sampson & Laub, 1993), reintegrative sham-

ing, and restorative justice (Braithwaite, 2001). These approaches were recently tied

together under the definition of “positive criminology” (Ronel & Elisha, 2011), plac-

ing the emphasis on the personal and social strength increasing the degree to which

individuals can embrace the prosocial lifestyle and avoid criminality.

Yoga practice, which can be viewed as one aspect in the above positive criminology

approach, is now offered in some prisons and considered as an informal rehabilitative

alternative or addition (Karup & Hall, 2016; Muirhead & Fortune, 2016). It should be

emphasized, however, that there are many different types of yoga practiced, meaning

that the practice is not always consistent. Yet, very few controlled studies have been

conducted to examine the impact of yoga practicing in prison and the reduction of

recidivism, some of which suffer methodological flows, as detailed bellow.

The present study aims to fill this void and assess the effectiveness of yoga pro-

grams using a quasi-experimental design and a wide sample by taking into consider-

ation a wide range of variables to better understand the influence of yoga programs on

recidivism and by extending the monitoring period for released prisoners to 5 years,

which allows for comparison with other studies in the field. The purpose of the present

study was to examine the correlation between yoga practice and recidivism among

prisoners released from the IPS who participated in yoga during incarceration as com-

pared with a matched control group of non-yoga-participating released prisoners over

a follow-up period of 5 years after discharge from prison. The hypothesis of the pres-

ent study is that practicing yoga has positive ongoing effects on prisoners’ lives, which

assists in their rehabilitation program and thereby reduces recidivism rates.