Johnna Christian

Riding the Bus: Barriers to Prison Visitation and Family Management Strategies

Geographic separation from family is one consequence of imprisonment. Depending on the state, prisons are often located in remote, rural areas that are far from the urban cores many prisoners come from. Although scholars frequently cite the distance of prison facilities from prisoners’ families’ residences, scant research has addressed whether this is in fact an impediment to visiting or how families who do visit manage this process. It is an exhausting, resource intensive process for a family member to make one visit at a prison. Understanding how families decide how much of their resources to devote to maintaining their relationship with the prisoner is important. Using data collected through ethnographic observation and interviews, this article explores family management of prison visiting as one of the collateral consequences of incarceration.

Gender Differences in the Transformation Narrative: Implications for Revised Reentry Strategies for Female Offenders

Several studies have found that men and women differ in how they recount events and experiences. However, they may also differ in the actual experiences of events. A sample of 37 individuals with various stigmatized identities was asked to describe how their lives changed in a positive way. The narratives revealed that women and men experience role transformation differently. Men refer to status-related factors (SRF) while women refer to relationship-related factors (RRF) as integral parts of their narratives. Dominant reentry paradigms rely on a male model of change, but if women transform differently, revised female-specific reentry strategies are necessary for women.

Transitioning Offenders to the Community: A Content Analysis of Reentry Guides

ABSTRACT The need for strong discharge planning materials which includes reentry guides assumes increasing importance with the large numbers of prisoners being discharged. They return to their communities and need to secure housing, find employment, obtain health care, and in many instances, on-going treatment for substance abuse and mental illness. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the content, readability and interactive nature of 13 reentry guides given to prisoners after release. This study suggests that many components of current reentry guides need to be reevaluated and redesigned in order to maximize their effectiveness with prisoners returning to the community.

Examining the Intersections of Race, Gender, and Mass Imprisonment

As incarceration rates in the United States have reached the highest point in history, the concept of mass imprisonment describes both high levels of imprisonment and its potential far reaching consequences. With disproportionately high rates of incarceration for African Americans compared to other racial and ethnic groups, mass imprisonments impact on the Black community is a topic of critical importance. Black women in particular face unique challenges in the era of mass imprisonment as both incarcerated women and women connected to imprisoned men and women. This article uses the concept of intersectionality to examine extant research about Black women and mass imprisonment.

Social Support, Motivation, and the Process of Juvenile Reentry: An Exploratory Analysis of Desistance

Many scholarly works and studies have explored the experience of reentry and desistance for adult offenders, but fewer studies have focused on these processes among juvenile offenders. Using qualitative case studies of juveniles released from secure confinement, this study explores the desistance process during juvenile reentry by examining how social support is used during the process. The authors propose that motivation, derived from both agentic resolve and reinforcement from social support networks, is necessary for successful desistance.

“Getting Out:” A Summary of Qualitative Research on Desistance Across the Life Course

Large-scale, longitudinal studies have identified important correlates of desistance, but, due to the nature of the inquiry, are limited in their ability to describe the mechanisms by which desistance occurs. For this type of explanation, more detailed and nuanced studies of desistance experiences and the meanings applied to them must be conducted. At this time, some of the most promising studies on the mechanisms of desistance are qualitative. They are commonly based upon retrospective narratives focused on the inter- and intrapersonal dynamics of desistance and on life circumstances. This chapter describes recent qualitative studies of desistance with a particular emphasis on how individuals change from offending to sustained, non-offending.

Work, Family, and Masculine Identity

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.