Reentry Experiences Research Articles

Characteristics of the Re-Entry Experiences of Returning Saudi International Students after Studying Abroad

The main purpose of this research is to describe the characteristics of the re-entry experiences of Saudis returning to Saudi Arabia after studying abroad. The total number of participants in the study was 21 Saudi returnees, consisting male (n=13, 61.90 per cent) and female participants (n=8, 38.09 per cent)returning from studying in the U.S. U.K. and Australia. By conducting semi-structured individual interviews with the participants, the findings showed six themes that answered the main question of this research. These themes include motivations for returning home, preparing for returning home, feelings on returning home, the nature of relationships with family, the nature of relationships with friends and sense of belonging. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are provided.

Examining Change in Family Conflict and Family Violence After Release From Prison

This study examines changes in family conflict and violence among a sample of adult men after release from prison. Using longitudinal panel data on 1,282 men in the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative, cross-lagged dynamic fixed-effects panel data models are used to examine factors that relate to family conflict and family violence perpetrated by men after release from prison. Increased contact with family members during incarceration, as well as postrelease family support, related to decreased family conflict, even after accounting for family conflict during incarceration. Contact was unrelated to postrelease family violence. Interestingly, family violence prior to incarceration did not predict within-person changes in violence postrelease. Postrelease substance use and criminal offending significantly related to postrelease family violence. With incarceration affecting so many people nationwide, understanding how the experiences of incarceration and reentry impacts family health and well-being should be an important consideration for correctional policy and programming.

Factors affecting the re-entry experiences of returning Saudi international students after studying abroad

يهدف هذا البحث للإجابة عن السؤال التالي/ کيف تؤثر بعض العوامل مثل الجنس, العمر, الحالة الاجتماعية, مدة الدراسة في الخارج, التواصل مع الثقافة الأصلية أثناء الدراسة في الخارج, الدين على تجارب ما بعد العودة من الابتعاث للطلاب الدوليين السعوديين؟ وکان عدد المشارکين في هذا البحث هو 21 من السعوديين والسعوديات العائدين من الدراسة في الخارج – ثلاثة عشر رجلا بمعدل 61.90% و ثمانية إناث بمعدل 38.09 % ممن عادوا من الدراسة في الولايات المتحدة الأمريکية, المملکة المتحدة, أستراليا. وبعد إجراء الباحث مقابلات فردية مع المشارکين, أظهرت النتائج أن الإناث العائدات من الابتعاث يواجهون تحديات أکبر من الذکور. وبالنسبة للعمر فقد اختلفت إجابات المشارکين بشکل ملحوظ عما إذا کان العمر مؤثرا في تجارب ما بعد العودة أم لا. وإضافة لذلک, أظهرت النتائج أن غير المتزوجين يواجهون صعوبات أکبر من المتزوجين. وأيضا, بينت النتائج أنه کلما زادت فترة الابتعاث کلما واجه المبتعثون والمبتعثات تحديات أکبر بعد العودة. وبالنسبة للتواصل مع الثقافة الأصلية أثناء المکوث في الخارج, فقد بينت النتائج أن المبتعثون والمبتعثات کانوا على تواصل دائم مع السعودية إما من خلال الزيارات السنوية وإما من خلال استخدام وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي لذا فقد سهل هذا التواصل القوي حياتهم بعد العودة وقلل من التحديات المتوقعة. وأخيرا, أکد أغلب المشارکين أن للدين أثر إيجابي کبير على حياتهم ما بعد العودة. وفي ختام الدراسة تم تقديم بعض التطبيقات والتوصيات من خلال نتائج هذه الدراسة.

Method to the Madness: Tracking and Interviewing Respondents in a Longitudinal Study of Prisoner Reentry

After nearly four decades of growth, the number of people held in U.S. prisons has begun to decline. In an era of decarceration, social scientists need to understand prisoner reentry experiences. Longitudinal studies are one strategy to accomplish this goal. Yet, the retention of a formerly incarcerated population across waves of interviews is challenging due to their transient lifestyles and limited support systems, which may be further complicated by gang involvement. This article details the longitudinal follow-up procedures used in the LoneStar Project—a multiwave study of 802 males first interviewed in prison and reinterviewed twice in the year postrelease—to build rapport, complete interviews, and minimize attrition. We then evaluate the effectiveness of our procedures on important outcomes including interview yields, appointments, and incoming calls. Results indicate that any outgoing contact with respondents via appointment reminders and other reciprocal modes of contact lead to greater project engagement and a greater likelihood of interview completion. We conclude with relevant takeaways for researchers seeking to maximize survey participation with hard-to-reach populations.

Young adult reflections on the impact of parental incarceration and reentry

Little is known about the continuing effects of childhood parental incarceration into young adulthood. Fourteen young adults who experienced parental incarceration during adolescence shared their experiences through individual interviews focused on the following qualitative research question: In what ways do young adults believe they have been impacted in young adulthood by the earlier experiences of parental incarceration and reentry? Findings indicate that most relationships with previously incarcerated parents remain tenuous. Participants describe ongoing struggles to develop trusting relationships, manage negative emotions, and stay out of trouble. Findings have implications for assisting young adults and families affected by criminal justice involvement.

“It’s Hard Out Here if You’re a Black Felon”: A Critical Examination of Black Male Reentry

Formerly incarcerated Black males face many barriers once they return to society after incarceration. Research has long established incarceration as a determinant of poor health and well-being. While research has shown that legally created barriers (e.g., employment, housing, and social services) are often a challenge post-incarceration, far less is known of Black male’s daily experiences of reentry. Utilizing critical ethnography and semi-structured interviews with formerly incarcerated Black males in a Northeastern community, this study examines the challenges Black males experience post-incarceration.

Older adults’ lived experience of incarceration

This qualitative analysis explores older adults’ lived experiences of incarceration. As part of a larger mixed-methods longitudinal study, 23 older adults were interviewed about their prison and reentry experiences. Findings describe experiences of loss, lack of medical attention, abuse by staff and other inmates, and the uncertainties and danger of prison life. After release, participants reported experiencing anxiety and stress related to their prison experiences. While participants reported that the ability to manage prison life deteriorated with age, some benefits of their senior status were also described. Maturity may allow older prisoners to remove themselves from volatile situations. Participants described experiences of rest and recovery, reflecting coping mechanism and resilience that could improve psychosocial outcomes during and after prison. This descriptive analysis centers the voices of older prisoners and informs interventions to support this vulnerable community.

Reentry experiences of dance/movement therapists in East Asia after training in the United States

This phenomenological study explores the transitional experiences of East Asian dance/movement therapists who left the sites of their professional training in the United States to travel back to their countries in East Asia. Semi-structured interviews with six participants were conducted to explore two research questions: 1. How did dance/movement therapy (DMT) returnees describe their experiences of transition from the United States to their home countries? and 2. How did DMT returnees experience the transition to their home countries? The researcher derived three themes from the data: (1) Unwanted return, (2) Not professionally at home in one’s home country, and (3) Inner and outer resources to overcome challenges. These results highlight and explain that the transition period after reentering involves not only physical relocation but also a complicated emotional process, especially as DMT requires full body involvement during training and internship. Transition inadvertently causes great difficulty for those forced to leave their professional homes. It is hoped that the result of this study, in which returnees honestly and bravely share their experiences and discuss how they made great efforts to overcome and readjust during their re-entry transitions back to their native cultures in East Asia, will help readers to better understand the challenges and resilience of DMTs across cultures.

Social Determinants of Health and What Mothers Say They Need and Want After Release From Jail.

Identifying the biopsychosocial needs of mothers who have been released from jail is critical to understanding the best ways to support their health and stability after release. In May through August 2014, we interviewed 15 mothers who had been released from an urban jail about their reentry experiences, and we analyzed transcripts for themes. Eight domains of community reentry emerged through analysis: behavioral health services, education, employment, housing, material resources, medical care, relationships with children, and social support. Participants defined barriers to successful reentry, which paralleled the social determinants of health, and shared suggestions that could be used to mitigate these barriers.

Can Social Support Overcome the Individual and Structural Challenges of Being a Sex Offender? Assessing the Social Support-Recidivism Link.

Social support is important for individual's successful reentry; however, little is known about how it operates or is influenced by individual and structural factors. Understanding how social support matters for individuals convicted of a sex offense is especially important as they may have a different reentry experience due to the nature of their crime and post-conviction restrictions. This study examines the nature and effects of instrumental and expressive social support from family, friends, intimate partners, and parole officers on recidivism for a sample of men convicted of sex offenses using mixed methods. Results show that family, friend, and intimate partner support had no effects on recidivism, however participants reporting a positive relationship with their parole officer were more likely to return to prison. Qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews sheds light on how the nature of these relationships might explain the social support-recidivism link in a high stakes population.

Re-entry experiences of Black men living with HIV/AIDS after release from prison: Intersectionality and implications for care

RationaleBoth the HIV epidemic and incarceration disproportionately affect Black men in the United States. A critical period for incarcerated Black men living with HIV/AIDS is re-entry into the community, which is often associated with adverse health outcomes. Additionally, Black men living with HIV/AIDS involved in the criminal justice system are burdened by multiple, intersecting disadvantaged identities and social positions. ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine community re-entry experiences among Black men living with HIV/AIDS from an intersectional perspective. MethodIn-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 incarcerated Black men in Wisconsin, at pre-release from prison and six months after re-entry. Thematic analysis guided by intersectionality theory was used to analyze interview transcripts. ResultsSeven emerged themes included Intersectional Identities and Social Positions, Family Support, Neighborhood Violence, Relationship with Law Enforcement, Employment, Mental Health Concerns, and Medical Care and Medication Management. Intersecting identities and social positions interact with factors at multiple levels to inform health and HIV care. A conceptual framework was developed to illustrate relationships among themes. ConclusionsFindings demonstrate the relevance of intersectionality theory in HIV care with Black men involved in criminal justice system. Incorporating a social-ecological perspective into intersectionality framework could be useful in theoretical and empirical research. Disenfranchised communities may particularly benefit from interventions that address community- and systemic-level issues.

Reentry Experiences and Professional Developments of International Marriage and Family Therapy Graduates in Taiwan

Reentry research has received much less attention than research on cultural adjustment in a foreign country, especially in the marriage and family therapy (MFT) field in the United States. Lack of research on international students’ job experiences and professional developments during reentry does not provide further information to evaluate the quality of MFT education in the United States. This study was intended to extend the reentry literature and specifically to understand personal and professional reentry experiences and cross-cultural transformation of MFT returnees in Taiwan. Thirteen participants were interviewed, and the resulting data was analyzed using constructivist grounded theory. Analyses results demonstrated macro contextual factors that situated unique personal and professional reentry phenomena for international MFT graduate in Taiwan. The returnees strived to explore their MFT identity and interpret cross-cultural differences by developing four coping strategies (e.g., not wanting to fit in, doing what you were supposed to do or could do, processing with others, and therapists’ multicultural awareness) that were associated with three conditions, such as personal networks linking to professional networks, supervision, and training in MFT. Findings suggested that reentry adaption was varied and fitting into Taiwanese society might not be the final goal for the returnees. Training implications in the MFT field were provided based on the findings.

“Free but Still Walking the Yard”: Prisonization and the Problems of Reentry

This paper draws on nine months of ethnographic research living in a halfway house and interviews with former prisoners to theorize the embodied experience of reentry. I treat prison release as a s...

An exploratory study into organizational repatriates’ emotional support network

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how repatriates’ emotional support network affects their experience of re-entry.Design/methodology/approachThis inductive, qualitative study is based on 27 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with Belgian organizational repatriates.FindingsThe analyses suggest that expatriation empathy is a key attribute of organizational repatriates’ main emotional support providers. In addition, the results show that although partners are a main source of emotional support on re-entry, they are also important potential causes of distress. Lastly, the results suggest that the cultural diversity of a repatriate’s emotional support network is linked with characteristics of the assignment and that it affects the experience of repatriation.Research limitations/implicationsThe results provide empirical evidence that the expatriation empathy of repatriates’ support providers is a more informative characteristic to consider compared with whether they have personal experience of expatriation. In addition, the results suggest that research should also take into account the negative side of social support, and, for example, consider the influence of crossover distress of partners who experience relocation difficulties themselves.Practical implicationsThis study points to the possible benefits of organizing social activities or training for repatriates and their partner and any children, as well as the advantages of encouraging expatriates to invite home-country friends to visit.Originality/valueAlthough most scholars agree on the importance of support for expatriates’ well-being, the sources of relevant emotional support have received little research attention so far, as has how this influences the repatriation experience.

Executing an Offender Reentry Simulation Event: Teaching the Reality of Reentry to University Students

This study discusses the implementation of an offender reentry simulation event hosted at a medium-sized university in the southeast for criminal justice students in Fall 2016. As the faculty member responsible for the event, it was my hope to provide students with a realistic experience of reentry that would help them to better understand the challenges associated with reentry. In other words, my desire was to challenge their preset notions that all offenders have the tools they need to successfully reenter society after incarceration and recidivism is simply a function of a rational choice to commit crime. The purpose was not to advocate for the removal of sanctions for criminal behavior, but to allow students to better understand the variety of experiences encountered by offenders so when they become practitioners, they can advocate for better resources to help reentering offenders with the long-term goal of recidivism reduction.

A Retrospective Look at the Experience of Parental Incarceration and Family Reentry During Adolescence

ABSTRACTFew studies provide firsthand experiences of parental incarceration in adolescents’ own voices. Fourteen young men and women retrospectively shared their experiences of parental incarceration and family reentry during adolescence. Individual interviews focused on the following qualitative research questions: (1) What is the experience of parental incarceration and reentry for adolescents? (2) How does the child–parent relationship change from pre- to postincarceration? Relationships with incarcerated parents tended toward estrangement. Negative emotions and need for emotional support were predominant in the sample. Findings have implications for improving mental health services for children and families, trauma work, and policy interventions across services.

Work, Family, and Masculine Identity: An Intersectional Approach to Understanding Young, Black Men’s Experiences of Reentry

Through a qualitative study of the reintegration experiences of African American men, aged 18–25, we heed Fader and Traylor’s call for intersectional analyses of desistance and reentry. The current study draws from prior works to analyze the processes of “adultification” among economically disadvantaged African American young men and the impact of postincarceration employment challenges on masculine identity during young adulthood. We extend earlier research by incorporating the perspectives of family members, allowing for an in-depth examination of the processes that occur during the postrelease transition to adulthood and the complications that may emanate from families. Our findings allow us to explicate an intersectional reintegration process in light of early adultification processes, particularly relating to employment and family relationships. We highlight the overlay of adultification processes for disadvantaged youth, their subsequent offending, the multilayered and intersectional challenges of reintegration, and how they overcome these challenges. The implications for an intersectional approach to reentry are discussed.

Correcting the “Correctional” Component of the Corrections Officer Role: How Offender Custodians Can Contribute to Rehabilitation and Reintegration

ABSTRACTResearch demonstrates that for many individuals imprisonment fails to rehabilitate or deter, and may actually promote recidivism. What can be done to limit reoffending and improve reentry experiences? One malleable component of custodial corrections is the role of the corrections officer. Alterations in the practices of detention workers may significantly contribute to positive offender outcomes. Drawing from several disparate literatures, this article proposes ten recommendations for how to reform the role of corrections officers in ways that promote rehabilitation and reintegration. Discussed are ways in which corrections officers should emphasize correction, use cognitive behavioral techniques, embody other roles (crisis counsellors, health advocates, corrections counselors, and life coaches), encourage identity substitutions, suggest new routine activities, solicit crime controllers, and facilitate transitions.

Forensic Assertive Community Treatment: Recidivism, hospitalization, and the role of housing and support

ABSTRACTWhile Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is considered an evidence-based service model, there is limited evidence regarding the effectiveness of an adaptation of the model, Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT), for persons with serious mental illness who also have significant criminal justice system involvement. Using a multimethod approach, this article combines quantitative and qualitative data to review baseline information and nine-month follow-up recidivism, hospitalization, and housing outcomes for individuals enrolled in a FACT program. Findings suggest substance use, housing, and FACT team members’ support played an important role in clients’ prison reentry experiences.

The Effects of Age at Prison Release on Women’s Desistance Trajectories: a Mixed-Method Analysis

The purpose of this study is to measure the effect that age has on women’s gendered prisoner reentry experiences and the likelihood of desisting from crime and substance abuse. This study also seeks to evaluate the applicability of Paternoster and Bushway’s (2009) Identity Theory of Desistance (ITD) for a contemporary, all-female sample. This mixed-method study makes use of official arrest data for 218 women leaving Delaware prisons in the mid 1990s, to create group-based offending trajectory models. A representative subsample of 118 women was interviewed between 2009 and 2011 and asked to conceptualize the mechanisms that led to their desistance or persistence in offending. Multinomial logistic regression analyses reveal that for some of the sample, age at the time of release from prison has a positive effect on the likelihood that women will belong to a desisting trajectory group rather than the most deviant reference group. Interview narratives demonstrate that in navigating the post-incarceration gendered experiences of securing employment, family reunification, and substance abuse recovery, maturity, clarity about one’s personal responsibility for linked failures, and a desire to transform one’s identity were significant factors that preceded the capacity to excel in those reentry domains. These findings lend support for the applicability of ITD for women’s desistance experiences. As older women appear to express a reentry goal orientation that diverges from that of their younger counterparts, gender-responsive rehabilitation agendas must also include programming that increases the likelihood that participants will connect failures sooner so that the prosocial benefits of a healthy identity change can be enjoyed for longer.