Reentry Needs: Men Who Are Young, Hispanic, Older, or With Mental Illness

Abstract

Perceptions of the needs for successful reentry among incarcerated men from diverse backgrounds were investigated using phenomenological qualitative methods. Twenty-nine men serving time in a northeastern U.S. correctional facility, which concentrated on treatment of substance use, participated in four focus groups. Young men found it most important to make personal changes, Hispanic men to maintain personal identity, older men to receive structural support, and men with mental illness to connect with family.

Reentry as Experienced by Women in Jail: Advocating for Change

“…Thus, early sentencing might assist women who are incarcerated to address their substance abuse head on. As discovered in an earlier study (Dobmeier et al, 2017), younger women more often expressed a belief that they could change their lives around on their own. They might benefit from working with counselors and criminal justice personnel who support young women's need for hope while planning realistically for the social stigma and other obstacles often associated with reentry.…”

“…Experiences of reentry for a woman must be understood through her position in the life span (Dobmeier et al, 2017;Holtfreter & Wattanaporn, 2014), her mental health (DeHart et al, 2014) and substance abuse (Scott et al, 2014) history, and her responsibilities toward her family (Codd, 2013). Furthermore, her experiences in drug court (D. S. Morse et al, 2015), in jail (Rockell, 2012), with service coordination at the point of reentry (Rodda & Beichner, 2017) and following reentry (Dobmeier et al, 2017;Holtfreter & Wattanaporn, 2014), and with social stigma (Johnson et al, 2014) all bear on her experience of reentry.…”

“…We anticipated that a woman's age would influence how she thought about reentry. Position in the life span influences how one views oneself and the world, relationships with family, career and life goals, and perception of reentry (Dobmeier et al, 2017;Holtfreter & Wattanaporn, 2014). There were seven age-based focus groups in our study.…”

Applying the Stress Process Theory to Assess Correlates of Suicide Ideation-to-Action Among Persons on Parole in the United States

“…This finding could indicate that persons on parole with depressive symptoms are less likely to know, or make use of, effective coping strategies post-imprisonment. For persons on parole, depression and subsequent suicide could stem from problems reintegrating into their community, problems reconnecting or rebuilding their social network, learning, or adapting to new social roles, unstable housing, and/or accessing material resources (Dobmeier et al, 2017;Western et al, 2015;Wyse, 2018). In addition, inability to access to physical and mental health care due to being uninsured places another barrier on persons on parole, and thereby increases the likelihood of experiencing mental health symptoms, and eventually, recidivism (Marlow et al, 2010).…”

Mental health treatment among older adults with mental illness on parole or probation

“…Mental health-related conditions are more prevalent among older adults on parole or probation than older adults without justice involvement, including past-year major depression (15% vs. 5%), serious psychological distress (22% vs. 6%), alcohol use disorders (20% vs. 3%), and drug use disorders (7% vs. 0.6%) (Bryson et al, 2017). Advanced age and mental illness have been independently linked to poor social supports, severe material deprivation, and problems with social reintegration upon release from incarceration (Dobmeier et al, 2017; Western, Braga, Davis, & Sirois, 2015; Wyse, 2018). The combination of advancing age and mental illness may define a subgroup of justice-involved individuals with exceptional difficulty following release from incarceration, including a profound need for structured support and mental health services, and significant barriers to healthcare access.…”