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Outpatient, Ancillary Groups or Drug Education only) due to a shortage of intensive treatment
slots. Critical to the matching process is the use of matching criteria closely related to the
outcome criteria (e.g., recidivism and drug use).
Matching must be sensitive to the three principles of risk, need, and responsivity derived
fiom empirical research. First, effective programs clearly differentiate between low-risk and highrisk
clients (Andrews et al., 1990; Bonta, 1996; Gendreau, 1996; Jones, 1996). High-risk cases
should receive high levels of intervention and services; low-risk cases should receive minimal
intervention. Second, criminogenic needs are dynamic @e., changing) risk factors that are
predictive of recidivism (e.g., antisocial cognitions and emotional states, association with
antisocial peers, substance abuse, weak self-control and problem solving skills). Programs that
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effectively target and reduce such individual needs accomplish larger decreases in re-offending.
Third, programs that appropriarely target the specific needs and leaning styles of their clients are
more effective.
One of the drawbacks of matching is that many cases drop out as the number of matching
variables increases. It is thus paramount to use a small number of relevant predictors to select
candidates for the comparison group. Using aggregate matching, overall distributions in the
experimental and control groups are made to correspond on the criterion variables. Although
individual matching is more precise @e., a “partner” for each treated client is selected from the
unexposed group of offenders), individual matching is far more expensive, time-consuming, and
difFcult to execute for a large number of matched variables. Research has consistently indicated
the priority of several static predictors: offender age, age at first arrest, number of previous
convictions (property, person, or drug offenses), and prior history of drug use (Andrews et al.,
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This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not
been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s)
and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.