Using phenomenological methodology, the authors explore the core emotions involved in the transition from imprisonment to society for released juvenile lifers and how these emotions inform participants’ sense of self. Nine adult men, who had spent an average of 26 years imprisoned for homicide crimes committed as youth, participated in a series of in-depth interviews following their resentencing and release. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, we found that reintegration following a life sentence involves powerful emotions of joy and shame, and that these emotions can be reconciled to achieve an integrated sense of self—one that embodies self-acceptance and positive self-regard. The findings add to prior theory and research and offer new understandings of the reintegration process for released juvenile lifers.
The following study examined the association between race, ethnicity, referral source, and reasons for attrition from substance use treatment in a sample of 72,643 discharges of adolescent youth in the United States from 2014 to 2016. Black and Hispanic adolescents were more likely to be discharged due to incarceration and termination by the facility compared to White adolescents. Adolescents referred by probation, diversion, other juvenile justice organizations, health care providers, community agencies, and individual referrals were significantly more likely to be discharged due to incarceration and terminated by the treatment facility compared to youth who were referred by schools. Findings suggest that enhancing linkage to treatment from systems in the social environment may play a role in attenuating racial and ethnic disparities in rates of attrition from substance abuse treatment among adolescent youth in the United States.
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