Predictors of reward status in prison: Behaviour, motivation, and self-governance ability

Reward systems in prison are applied worldwide. In reward systems, the responsibility for behavioural reform is increasingly transferred from states to incarcerated individuals, as these individuals can earn a reward status by complying with institutional rules. The underlying assumption of such systems is that rewards promote motivation for compliance. Despite the large impact of (not) earning reward status on individual lives, it has seldomly been empirically studied which factors predict earning reward status. A further question is to what extent individuals in prison are capable of self-governing their behaviour, which is necessary to comply with institutional rules and obtain rewards. Using survey-data from the Life in Custody study ( N = 777) conducted in the Netherlands, bivariate and multivariate relationships were examined between reward status and theoretically relevant predictors: motivation, self-governance ability, misconduct and compliance. Bivariate results indicate that individuals with and without reward status reported significant differences on all predictors. However, only misconduct predicted reward status in a conditional fixed effects logit model. Next to conceptualising and operationalising self-governance ability, findings question the rehabilitative value of the Dutch RSP. Findings also provide incentives to policymakers and prison staff to identify, distinguish between, and address causes of non-compliant behaviour in prison.