Scared Straight The idea of sending delinquents to "Scared Straight" programs has appeared recently in several media programs (such as Dr. Phil) and on a program called Beyond Scared Straight. So it seems appropriate to look at a randomized experiment from the past. In 1983, Roy Lewis reported on a study in California.

Each male delinquent in the study (all were aged 14-18) was randomly assigned to either Scared Straight or no treatment. The males who were assigned to Scared Straight went to a prison, where they heard prisoners talk about their bad experiences there.

Then the males in both the experimental and the control group were observed for 12 months to see whether they were rearrested. The table shows the results. (Source: Lewis, Scared straight-California style: Evaluation of the San Quentin Squires program. Criminal Justice and Behavior, vol. 10: 209-226, 1983)

a. Report the rearrest rate for the Scared Straight group and for the No Treatment group, and state which is higher.

b. This experiment was done in the hope of showing that Scared Straight would cause a lower arrest rate. Did the study show that? Explain.