Jennifer E. Cobbina

Women Coming Home: Long‐Term Patterns of Recidivism

Drawing on recent scholarship on prisoner reentry and gendered pathways to crime, this research explores how social relationships, incarceration experiences, and community context, and the intersection of these factors with race, influence the occurrence and timing of recidivism. Using a large, modern sample of women released from prison, we find that women who are drug dependent, have less education, or have more extensive criminal histories are more likely to fail on parole and to recidivate more quickly during the eight year follow‐up period. We also observe racial variation in the effect of education, drug use, and neighborhood concentrated disadvantage on recidivism. This study highlights the importance of an intra‐gender, theoretical understanding of recidivism, and has import for policy aimed at female parolees.

Men, Women, and Postrelease Offending An Examination of the Nature of the Link Between Relational Ties and Recidivism

Numerous studies have examined the postrelease behaviors of men and women, highlighting the importance of social bonds in understanding positive reentry. However, there is evidence that the effect of social bonds on recidivism may vary by gender. Furthermore, research suggests that an individual’s propensity for criminality, including prior criminal history, may hinder the development and maintenance of positive social bonds and subsequently affect reentry transitions. The current study extends previous research in two ways. First, the authors examine gender differences in the sources of recidivism and focus on the role of social ties and criminal history in shaping recidivism risk. Next, the authors consider if the influence of parolees’ ties to their parents and intimate partners is conditioned by their criminal history. The results reinforce the importance of social ties, particularly to parents, for parolees; however, the results also suggest that male relationships with parents and intimate partners may be influenced by prior criminal involvement.

The Effect of Drug Use, Drug Treatment Participation, and Treatment Completion on Probationer Recidivism

The prevalence of drug use among probationers, and the entire offender population, has been well documented. Numerous drug treatment modalities have been shown to reduce recidivism among this population; however, analyses of programmatic success are often based on a subset of offenders who complete treatment. Less is known about individuals who fail to complete treatment. The goal of the current study is to consider the interaction of drug use, drug treatment provision, and treatment completion on recidivism using data from the 2000 Illinois Probation Outcome Study. Findings from a series of proportional hazard models indicate that probationers who failed to complete treatment were more likely to be rearrested in the four years following discharge from probation, even when compared to individuals who needed treatment but did not enroll. Moreover, probationers who failed to complete treatment had more serious criminal histories and fewer ties to society. The research has important implications for the measurement of treatment provision in studies of recidivism, in specific, and more generally for the need to engage and retain probationers in drug treatment.

The effects of probation or parole agent relationship style and women offenders' criminogenic needs on offenders' responses to supervision interactions

Although prior research revealed that in noncorrectional and correctional settings, staff relationship style affects client outcomes, there has been little study of this effect for women offenders. The present study investigated effects of two dimensions of relationship style (probation or parole agent–reported supportiveness and punitiveness) on female clients’ reports of responding to interactions with their agents with anxiety, reactance, and a sense of self-efficacy to avoid a criminal lifestyle. Results of a longitudinal study of 330 women on probation or parole revealed that agent supportiveness elicited lower anxiety and reactance and higher crime-avoidance self-efficacy. Agent punitiveness elicited greater anxiety and crime-avoidance self-efficacy. Moderation effect analysis showed that punitive style was most related to anxiety and reactance for women at lowest risk for reoffending. In contrast, supportiveness was most related to positive outcomes for the highest risk women. The research findings suggest areas for future theory development and approaches to effective correctional practice.

Predicting the Future: Incarcerated Women's Views of Reentry Success

Research reveals that most incarcerated adults are optimistic about their chances of success after release and believe they will be less likely to reoffend than other prisoners. Moreover, studies suggest that optimism shapes desistance. This raises the interesting question of how and why female inmates maintain an optimistic outlook about their postrelease. The current study uses in-depth interviews with 26 incarcerated women to assess inductively their perceptions of life after prison and the self-enhancing schemas they draw from in this process. Results highlight the utility of examining incarcerated womens outlook about their future and have import for policy.

Communication Style as an Antecedent to Reactance, Self-Efficacy, and Restoration of Freedom for Drug- and Alcohol-Involved Women on Probation and Parole

This study extends research on psychological reactance theory by examining probation and parole officer (PO) communication style as an antecedent to female offenders’ reactance and 2 indicators of subsequent drug and alcohol abuse while serving probation or parole sentences. Structural equation modeling was conducted to test a mediational path model, the results of which demonstrated that perceptions of PO conversational communication style were negatively associated with reactance but positively associated with self-efficacy to avoid drugs and alcohol. Conversely, women who perceived their POs as having a conformity communication style were more likely to report higher levels of reactance and lower self-efficacy to avoid drugs and alcohol. Psychological reactance led to desire to restore freedom, whereas self-efficacy to avoid drugs and alcohol did not. Desire to restore freedom was linked with reports of using drugs and alcohol and violations of parole or probation for using drugs and alcohol. These findings highlight the importance of communication style as an antecedent to reactance and in the relationship between POs and offenders.

Perceptions of race, crime, and policing among Ferguson protesters

Abstract Research demonstrates that race is commonly associated with perceptions of crime and thus, crime committed by people of color is often overestimated by the public, particularly white Americans. Studies also find that race is a predictor of citizens’ attitudes towards and experiences with the police. However, studies have not yet explored if and how minorities associate crime with people of color. Drawing from interviews with 81 men and women, this study explores the extent to which protesters from Ferguson, Missouri racially typify crime and their perceptions of how the police view and treat people who are black compared to people who are white. Results revealed that most respondents did not associate people of color with crime but believed that the police did. Additionally, the negative perceptions participants believed police to have were connected with broader social inequalities. Findings from this study reinforce the importance of police legitimacy.

Race, Neighborhood Danger, and Coping Strategies Among Female Probationers and Parolees

Research suggests that individuals on probation and parole typically reside in impoverished neighborhoods affected by multiple forms of socioeconomic disadvantage. These neighborhoods are often extremely segregated, resulting in the concentration of deleterious effects, including crime, on communities of color, especially African Americans. We build on previous research by examining how Black and White female offenders negotiate neighborhood crime in distressed communities. Using a mixed-methods approach, our findings suggest that perceptions of neighborhood safety, crime, and strategies to avoid offending are different for Black and White women and related to neighborhood context. We propose that future research should investigate long-term outcomes of the use of particular strategies to address neighborhood crime.

Race, Neighborhood Context, and Strategies to Avoid Victimization Among Female Probationers and Parolees

An established body of literature shows that females have higher levels of fear than males. Research suggests that women typically resort to rather constraining behavioral actions that limit their participation in public life. However, it is unclear whether the strategies women use to avoid victimization are tied to community context, especially for high-risk populations, such as women offenders. We build from insights of previous research by examining what strategies female probationers and parolees use to avoid victimization and their perception of how effective such strategies are in keeping them safe, whether the subjective and objective measures of neighborhood context is related to women’s strategies and whether the strategies used to avoid victimization vary by race and economic status.

Cognitive Transformation, Social Ecological Settings, and the Reentry Outcomes of Women Offenders:

Of theoretical interest to research on reentry and desistance is the intersection of cognitive transformation and the ecological contexts to which offenders return. The majority of offenders released from prisons in the United States return to impoverished neighborhood settings. However, there is a limited understanding of how offenders with different cognitive commitments to change interpret and negotiate the prosocial and illicit features situated in their environments. Drawing on different lines of theoretical research, we examine how cognitive commitments are affected by the lures and prosocial features of impoverished neighborhoods and how the intersection of these conditions affects success and failure in the post-release period. We use original survey and in-depth qualitative interviews with 37 incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women from St. Louis, Missouri. Findings suggest that an integrated examination of cognitive mechanisms and residential environments clarifies how offenders who return to similarly structurally disadvantaged places exhibit different reentry outcomes.