Well-being Of Offenders Research Articles

Consistency in Organization and the Impact on the Well-being of Young Offenders in Correctional Facilities.

The key to an effective correctional treatment is the organization’s quality. The quality of organization includes the consistency of a correctional system at managing security and delivering personal safety in correctional settings. This study seeks to explain levels of organizational consistency in juvenile correctional facilities. It further investigates how this dimension has an influence on the well-being of young offenders. The study comprised a survey completed by 289 male and female young offenders, aged 12 to 21 years old, in eight correctional facilities in Malaysia. The Measuring Quality of Prison Life (MQPL) was used to measure organizational consistency and the well-being of offenders. The findings demonstrate that majority of young offenders reported moderate levels of organizational consistency. Slightly more than half participants agree that the facilities are well-organised and well-controlled. Furthermore, the organizational consistency has significant influence on the well-being of young offenders in the correctional facilities. This study suggests that staff members play an important role in maintaining the quality of organization and thus creating a healthy correctional environment. This study has an impact on policy implementation in improving the well-being of young offenders in correctional facilities.

Inter-Relationships Among Cultural Identity, Discrimination, Distress, Agency, and Safety Among Indigenous People in Custody

ABSTRACTA strong cultural identity has been shown to protect against psychological distress prompted by discriminatory experiences. However, these associations are scientifically unknown for people who have contact with the criminal justice system. Examining the relationships between cultural identity and mental health could enlighten efforts to improve the wellbeing of offenders, many of whom have experienced numerous negative life events and stressors. This study aimed to address these concerns by assessing the influence of cultural identity on distress, agency, community safety and discrimination for 78 Indigenous prisoners in custody in Australia. Findings revealed that possessing a stronger cultural identity effected lower levels of distress. Participants with weaker cultural identities had higher levels of distress and lower levels of agency. Furthermore, a reduced feeling of safety in the broader community appeared to have a greater negative impact on participants with weaker cultural identities. Levels of distress increased as perceptions of discrimination increased, immaterial to one's degree of cultural identity. However, results suggest that high identifiers were potentially able to alleviate this distress, perhaps through enhanced agency and engagement in cultural activities. Findings underscore the need for forensic clinicians to consider notions of cultural identity when engaging with, assessing and treating Indigenous clients.

Impact and cost-effectiveness of care farms on health and well-being of offenders on probation: a pilot study

BackgroundCare farms (CFs), in which all or part of the farm is used for therapeutic purposes, show potential for improving well-being for disadvantaged groups. We assessed the feasibility of determining the cost-effectiveness of CFs in improving quality of life compared with comparator sites among probationers undertaking community orders (COs).Objectives(1) To conduct a systematic review of CF impacts and mechanisms in improving health and logic model development; (2) to inform future studies by estimating differences in quality of life and other outcomes, identifying factors driving CO allocation and ways to maximise recruitment and follow-up; and (3) to assess feasibility of cost-effectiveness analysis.Review methodsA mixed-methods synthesis following Campbell Collaboration guidelines. Pilot study: three probation service regions in England, each with a CF and a comparator CO site. Participants were adult offenders (aged ≥ 18 years) serving COs. The primary outcome was quality of life [as measured via the Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation–Outcome Measure (CORE-OM)]. Other outcomes were health behaviours, mental well-being, connectedness to nature and reconvictions.Data sourcesIn November 2014, we searched 22 health, education, environmental, criminal justice and social science electronic databases, databases of grey literature and care farming websites across Europe. There were no language restrictions. A full list of databases searched is given inAppendix 1; some examples include Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (via EBSCOhost), The Campbell Library, Criminal Justice Abstracts (via EBSCOhost), MEDLINE (via Ovid) and Scopus (Elsevier B.V., Amsterdam, the Netherlands).ResultsOur systematic review identified 1659 articles: 14 qualitative, 12 quantitative and one mixed-methods study. Small sample sizes and poor design meant that all were rated as being at a high risk of bias. Components of CFs that potentially improve health are being in a group, the role of the farmer and meaningful work, and interaction with animals. There was a lack of quantitative evidence indicating that CFs improve quality of life and there was weak evidence of improved mental health, self-efficacy, self-esteem, affect and mood. In the pilot study we recruited 134 respondents, and only 21 declined; 37% were allocated to three CFs and the remainder to comparators. This was below our recruitment target of 300. Recruitment proved challenging as a result of the changes in probation (probation trusts were disbanded in 2014) and closure of one CF. We found significant differences between CFs and comparator users: those at CFs were more likely to be male, smokers, substance users, at higher risk of reoffending (a confounder) and have more missing CORE-OM questions. Despite these differences, the use of propensity analysis facilitated comparison. Participants consented to our team accessing, and we were able to link, probation and police reconviction data for 90% of respondents. We gained follow-up questionnaire data from 52% of respondents, including health and social care use cost data. We transformed CORE-OM into CORE-6D, allowing derivation of quality-adjusted life-years. As a pilot, our study was not powered to identify significant differences in outcomes. Qualitatively, we observed that within COs, CFs can be formally recognised as rehabilitative but in practice can be seen as punitive.LimitationsChanges in probation presented many challenges that limited recruitment and collection of cost data.ConclusionsRecruitment is likely to be feasible in a more stable probation environment. Retention among probationers is challenging but assessing reconvictions from existing data is feasible. We found worse health and risk of reoffending among offenders at CFs, reflecting the use of CFs by probation to manage challenging offenders.Future workA sufficiently powered natural experiment is feasible and of value. Using reconvictions (from police data) as a primary outcome is one solution to challenges with retention. Propensity analysis provides a viable method for comparison despite differences in participants at CFs and comparator sites. However, future work is dependent on stability and support for CFs within probation services.Study registrationThis study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42014013892 and SW2013–04 (the Campbell Collaboration).Funding detailsThe National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme.

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Women Offenders: Motivations, Emotions, and Precipitating Events

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) poses a serious threat to the safety and well-being of offenders and staff, making it a critical issue for correctional institutions, yet little is known about NSSI adult women offenders. Fifty-six women residing in Canadian federal correctional institutions with a history of NSSI participated in semi-structured interviews to explore their behavior. More than two-thirds of the women interviewed reported engaging in NSSI as a method of coping with negative emotions. The most common emotions reported prior to engaging in NSSI were anger, depression, and anxiety. The most common event that preceded NSSI was interpersonal conflict. After self-injuring, women most commonly reported feelings of relief, followed by regret. Whereas many women described similar experiences with NSSI, this research suggests that NSSI is a complex behavior with many different motivations and precipitating factors, and that effective treatment should consider the individual's unique needs.

Health and wellbeing of offenders on probation in England: an exploratory study

BackgroundA growing amount of published work indicates that offenders in incarcerated settings have much poorer mental and physical health than does the general population. However, little is known about the health status of offenders, especially those on probation. Identification of these issues and engagement with health services is essential. The aim of this study was to assess self-reported health status, quality of life, and access to health services in a sample of probationers in England to inform policy makers of future service requirements. MethodsThis cross-sectional study was undertaken between May, and July, 2011, in Reading and Newbury, UK. Self-administered questionnaires including the SF-36 health survey (version 2), alcohol use disorder identification test (AUDIT), drug abuse screening test, and questions about access to health services and lifestyle indicators were administered to a pragmatic sample of 132 offenders older than 18 years who presented at probation offices. All statutory cases were eligible when they attended probation offices on a predetermined study day, except when the offender was assessed as presenting a high risk of harm to staff. Data were anonymised and completed questionnaires were analysed with descriptive statisitcs, t tests for independent sample means, and Z tests for the difference between two independent proportions. Additionally, we used multiple stepwise logistic regression with backward stepwise elimination to identify factors associated with poor mental health. FindingsMost participants were men (n=109 [83%]), which is similar to the national probation caseload (Z test, p=0·59). Mean age of participants was 34·9 years (SD 12·8), and their age distribution was similar to the national probation caseload, except that more participants were older than 50 years (19·7%vs 5·7%; Z=6·58; p<0·0001). Further, study participants were of similar ethnic composition to the national probation data, with most white British. The probationers had significantly lower SF-36 scores on all eight subscales than the general UK population. The mental component summary (MCS) score was significantly lower than in the general population (40·9 vs 50·0, 95% CI for difference −10·8 to −7·4; p<0·0001), even in individuals from socioeconomic class V (40·9 vs 49·9, −10·9 to −7·2, p<0·0001). 65% (95% CI 45·1–85·3) of female and 43% (33·7–52·5) of male probationers screened positive for depression (as identified by a cutoff of <42 of the Mental Component summary score of SF-36 V2 scale). After accounting for confounding factors, poor mental health was significantly associated with history of self-harm (odds ratio [OR] 3·33, 95% CI 1·1–7·2; p=0·011), drug misuse (1·23, 1·1–1·4; p=0·003), and visit to a general practitioner in the past 12 months (4·05, 1·4–8·5; p=0·002). About 44% of female and 43% of male probationers were deemed to be hazardous drinkers (AUDIT >8). Prevalence of hazardous drinking in female probationers was significantly higher than women in the general population (44%vs 15%, 95% CI for difference −0·49 to −0·08; p<0·0001) and was similar to that for female prisoners (Z test, p=0·665). 46% of male and 30% of female probationers reported a significantly larger use of illegal drugs in the previous year by contrast with 13% of men, and 8% of women in the general population (for men, Z=–9·57, p<0·0001; for women, Z=3·93, p<0·0001). Of 57 probationers who were identified as hazardous drinkers, only 13 (23%) had accessed drug and alcohol services in the previous year. Similarly, 62 probationers were screened positive for depression in our group, of whom only 16 (26%) managed to get access to a mental health service in the previous year. InterpretationThe results of this study confirm that probationers have poorer health—especially mental health—than the general population and are less likely to access health-care services. There are some limitations in interpretation of the results. Ours was a small pragmatic sample so is subject to large sampling error, which makes extrapolation of results to the entire UK probation population difficult. Nevertheless, these results are important for a hard-to-reach population, and especially if they are replicated in similar settings with time. Commissioners should be aware of the needs of this group. FundingNHS Berkshire West, Reading and Thames Valley Probation Agency.