Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Reduces Crime and Violence over Ten Years: Experimental Evidence
American Economic Review: Insights
vol. 5,
no. 4, December 2023
(pp. 527-45)
Abstract
Several small, short-term, or nonexperimental studies show that cognitive behavioral–informed interventions reduce antisocial behaviors over one to two years, but persistence research is rare. We followed 999 high-risk men in Liberia ten years after randomization into eight weeks of low-cost, nonspecialist-led therapy; $200 cash; both; or neither. A decade later, antisocial behaviors (such as robbery and drug selling) fell 0.2 standard deviations from therapy alone—significantly greater than the one-year impacts. Meanwhile, men who received therapy plus cash were 0.25 standard deviations less anti-social—similar to one-year results. In both cases, impacts were concentrated in men exhibiting highest baseline risk.Citation
Blattman, Christopher, Sebastian Chaskel, Julian C. Jamison, and Margaret Sheridan. 2023. "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Reduces Crime and Violence over Ten Years: Experimental Evidence." American Economic Review: Insights, 5 (4): 527-45. DOI: 10.1257/aeri.20220427Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D91 Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
- K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
- O17 Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements