Mixed Method Evaulation of Jockey Club Project ReBond

Official title

'Through the Gate' Desistance-Based Social Work Intervention for Offenders Serving First or Second Prison Sentence in Hong Kong - Jockey Club Project ReBond: A Longitudinal Mixed-Methods Randomised Control Trial

Overview

Overall, the investigators hypothesize that participants assigned to the intervention group (Project ReBond) will demonstrate significantly greater improvements across all outcomes compared to the control group. Specifically, the investigators expect positive intervention effects on desistance and TPB outcomes to become evident as participants transition back into the community (i.e., across the at 1-2 months, 6-7 months, and 13-14 months post-release assessment waves), while workshop-specific outcomes will be evident at the end of the workshop. Overall Design The current study employs a two-arm, parallel-group randomized controlled trial (RCT) utilizing a mixed design. The between-subjects factor is the treatment condition (Project ReBond Intervention plus TAU versus TAU Control), and the within-subjects factor is time, with repeated measures assessed across multiple time points over a 13-month tracking period. Intervention Group (Project ReBond + TAU) Participants allocated to the intervention group will receive the multifaceted Project ReBond services alongside standard care (TAU) for up to two years, beginning during their incarceration and continuing post-release. It should be noted that the 13-month research tracking period is shorter than the full two-year service duration; this truncated follow-up is necessary due to anticipated challenges in recruiting the predefined sample size before the project's overall deadline. The TAU is provided by the collaborating non-governmental organization (NGO), SideBySide. The Project ReBond intervention consists of the following specific components: * Pre-Release (During Incarceration): Each participant will receive a 6-session pro-social habit workshop and career-life counselling as part of their pre-release preparation. Those requiring employment assistance will be provided with job interview opportunities prior to their release. * Post-Release: Based on their personal interests and the recommendations of their caseworker, participants can choose to engage in the following services: i) Subsidies for professional grooming and image building; ii) Peer mentorship provided by successful desisters; iii) Financial literacy training and counselling; iv) Ongoing career-life counselling; v) Routine workshops designed to cultivate and maintain pro-social hobbies; vi) Subsidies for further education or occupational training; vii) Family-based counselling involving the participant and their significant other(s); and viii) Volunteering and community outreach, sharing opportunities. TAU Control Group Participants in the control group will receive standard care (TAU) while incarcerated and remain free to utilize any existing social services post-release.

Detailed description

Pre-Release Workshop Outcomes

In terms of workshop-specific outcomes, compared to the control group, participants in the intervention group will demonstrate at post-test:

• H6 (Workshop Effects):

* H6a (Art Workshop): Significantly higher emotional competence. * H6b (Sports Workshop): Significantly higher resilience. * H6c (Tech Workshop): Significantly higher AI literacy. * H6d (Tech Workshop): Significantly higher problem-solving confidence.

Exploratory Outcomes

Compared to the TAU control group, across post-release follow-ups, participants in the intervention group will demonstrate:

* H7: Significantly higher levels of well-being. * H8: Significantly higher levels of thriving.

Interventions

• Other Desistance-based Social Work
  The Project ReBond intervention consists of the following specific components: * Pre-Release (During Incarceration): Each participant will receive a 6-session pro-social habit workshop and career-life counselling as part of their pre-release preparation. Those requiring employment assistance will be provided with job interview opportunities prior to their release. * Post-Release: Based on their personal interests and the recommendations of their caseworker, participants can choose to engage in
• Other Treatment as Usual (TAU)
  Participants in the control group will receive standard care (TAU) while incarcerated and remain free to utilize any existing social services post-release. Specifically, control participants will be encouraged to engage with the standard services provided by SideBySide, whose standard care is informed by Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) principles.

Primary outcome measures

• Self-Reported Re-offending [Time frame: 1-2 months, 6-7 months, and 13-14 months post-release]

Secondary outcome measures (12)

• Post-Release Living Inventory for Ex-Prisoners (PROLI-ex) [Time frame: 1-2 months, 6-7 months, and 13-14 months post-release]
• Continuance Intention [Time frame: 1-2 months, 6-7 months, and 13-14 months post-release]
• Identification with Desistance [Time frame: Intake asssessment, 1-2 months, 6-7 months, and 13-14 months post-release]
• Reintegration Needs [Time frame: Intake asssessment, 1-2 months, 6-7 months, and 13-14 months post-release]
• Stigma Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ) [Time frame: 1-2 months, 6-7 months, and 13-14 months post-release]
• Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) [Time frame: 1-2 months, 6-7 months, and 13-14 months post-release]
• Social Integration Indicators (Education, Housing, Employment, Health) [Time frame: 1-2 months, 6-7 months, and 13-14 months post-release]
• Agency for Desistance (ADQ) [Time frame: Intake asssessment, 1-2 months, 6-7 months, and 13-14 months post-release]
• Factors of Motivation for Desistance (FoM-D) [Time frame: 1-2 months, 6-7 months, and 13-14 months post-release]
• Positive Affect [Time frame: Intake assessment, 1-2 months, 6-7 months, and 13-14 months post-release]
• Profile of Emotional Competence (PEC) for Art Workshop [Time frame: Baseline (First session) and 7 weeks later (last session of the Stage 1 workshop)]
• Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) for Sports Workshop [Time frame: Baseline (First session) and 7 weeks later (last session of the Stage 1 workshop)]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Hong Kong residents;
• Aged 18 years or above and capable of providing informed consent
• Serving a maximum of two sentences (including the current one) across any level or type of correctional facility
• The current sentence lasts between 3 and 12 months.

Exclusion criteria

• Physical conditions that preclude participation in at least 80% (six or seven sessions) of the Stage 1 in-prison workshops
• Psychological conditions (e.g. bipolar disorder or schizophrenia) that preclude participation in at least 80% (six or seven sessions) of the Stage 1 in-prison workshops
• Medical appointments that preclude participation in at least 80% (six or seven sessions) of the Stage 1 in-prison workshops
• Inadequate Cantonese or English proficiency that prevent the individual from providing informed consent and participating in the Stage 1 group workshops
• Cognitive impairments that prevent the individual from providing informed consent and participating in the Stage 1 group workshops
• A history or high risk of inflicting physical harm on other participants, clinicians, or CSD staff

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Open label

Primary purpose

Supportive care

Study locations

Hong Kong · 1 center

• The University of Hong Kong — Hong Kong

Publications

• Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(1), 30-41. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2
• Wittes J. Sample size calculations for randomized controlled trials. Epidemiol Rev. 2002;24(1):39-53. doi: 10.1093/epirev/24.1.39. No abstract available. PMID 12119854
• VanderWeele TJ, Trudel-Fitzgerald C, Allin P, Farrelly C, Fletcher G, Frederick DE, Hall J, Helliwell JF, Kim ES, Lauinger WA, Lee MT, Lyubomirsky S, Margolis S, McNeely E, Messer N, Tay L, Viswanath V, Weziak-Bialowolska D, Kubzansky LD. Current recommendations on the selection of measures for well-being. Prev Med. 2020 Feb 1;133:106004. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106004. Online ahead of print. PMID 32006530
• Team, R. C. (2025). R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. In https://www.R-project.org/
• Su R, Tay L, Diener E. The development and validation of the Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving (CIT) and the Brief Inventory of Thriving (BIT). Appl Psychol Health Well Being. 2014 Nov;6(3):251-79. doi: 10.1111/aphw.12027. Epub 2014 Jun 12. PMID 24919454
• Rocque, M. (2021). But what does it mean?: Defining, measuring, and analyzing desistance from crime in criminal justice. US Department of Justice
• Rizopoulos, D., Miranda-Afonso, P., & Papageorgiou, G. (2026). JMbayes2: Extended Joint Models for Longitudinal and Time-to-Event Data. In https://github.com/drizopoulos/jmbayes2
• Pinel EC. Stigma consciousness: the psychological legacy of social stereotypes. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1999 Jan;76(1):114-28. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.76.1.114. PMID 9972557

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07593534 · EA250537

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗