counterproductive

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counterproductive
coun‧ter‧pro‧duc‧tive /ˌkaʊntəprəˈdʌktɪv◂ $ -tər-/

adjective

Word Family: noun: produce, producer, product, production, reproduction, productivity; adjective: productive ≠ unproductive, counterproductive, reproductive, reproducible; verb: produce, reproduce; adverb: productively

achieving the opposite result to the one that you want:

Sending young offenders to prison can be counterproductive.