Interpersonal communication competence and the responsivity principle among inmates: implications for institutional misconduct

Abstract Inmate misconduct threatens two critically important functions of prison life: offender rehabilitation and facility safety. While many offender change programs focus on empathy development as a tool for reducing inmate misconduct, few studies elucidate how an inmate’s communication competence plays a role in the empathy-misconduct relationship. Drawing upon the Risk-Needs-Responsivity (RNR) framework, we conduct a multi-site investigation of prisons in a US state to assess the association between inmates’ self-assessed levels of interpersonal communication competence (ICC) and the incidence of inmate misconduct, net of controls and demographics. Results reveal higher levels of interpersonal communication competence are related to fewer major behavioral infractions but have no observed relationship with minor infractions while incarcerated. Empathy measures had no effect on either type of infraction. Theory and policy implications of our findings for correctional practice are discussed.