Scared Straight: The Panacea Phenomenon Revisited

by Patricia W. Gavin

A detailed analysis of a simplistic solution to a complex problem! There seem to be enduring beliefs about why children go wrong and what ought to be done about it. This provocative text tells about a program--known around the world as Scared Straight--that employs fear to deter youths from committing crime by bringing them into prison to participate in depictions of the realities of prison life. Finckenauer and his colleagues' timely revisit of the original critique of Scared Straight updates the evidence, examines anew the panacea phenomenon, explores similar programs in the United States and Europe (with an indepth look at the Ullersmo project in Norway), and discerns what the myth and panacea framework portends for other ways of dealing with juvenile delinquency.

246 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1981