The Prison Experience and Reentry: Examining the Impact of Victimization on Coming Home
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The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice and prepared the following final report: Document Title: The Prison Experience and Reentry: Examining the Impact of Victimization on Coming Home Author: Shelley Johnson Listwan, Ph.D., Dena Hanley, Ph.D., Mark Colvin, Ph.D. Document No.: 238083 Date Received: March 2012 Award Number: 2005-RP-BX-0002 This report has not been published by the U.S. Department of Justice. To provide better customer service, NCJRS has made this Federally- funded grant final report available electronically in addition to traditional paper copies. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Prison Experience and Reentry: Examining the Impact of Victimization on Coming Home Final Report Submitted to the National Institute of Justice By Shelley Johnson Listwan, Ph.D. Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence Kent State University and Dena Hanley, Ph.D. University of Akron Contributions by: Mark Colvin, Ph.D. Kent State University This project was supported by the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice grant 2005–RP–BX–0002 to the University of Akron and Kent State University’s Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence. Views expressed in this report of those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. i This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Acknowledgements We would like to express our gratitude to the many individuals and agencies who assisted us with this project. First, we would like to thank Gayle Bickle at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction for assisting us during the development and data collection stages. Second, we would like to thank the Bureau of Community Sanctions, specifically, Linda Janes and Alicia Handwerk for providing us with access and information on the halfway house population. Third, we would like to thank all of the halfway house directors for enduring the year long data collection process. Fourth, we would like to thank Sara Andrews and Allison Ball and other staff at the Akron Parole Authority for allowing us access and the physical space to collect parole outcomes. Finally, we would like to thank Paul Konicek and Brian Martin at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction for providing the necessary outcome information. We would also like to acknowledge the assistance of Daniel Flannery, Director of the Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence at Kent State University for his thoughtful comments and assistance throughout the process. We would like to thank Manfred Van Dulmen for his statistical expertise. A thank you to Barb Fahrny for assisting us with budgeting and helping us figure out how to keep stretching those dollars. Finally, we would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. Finally, this report is dedicated to the memory of Andrew Goldberg who left us too early. His diligence and hard work to reduce the harm associated with forced sexual victimization during incarceration will survive him. Thank you for everything Andy! ii This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Table of Contents ABSTRACT iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY v INTRODUCTION 1 Background 1 Study Goals and Objectives 3 REVIEW OF THE RELEVEANT LITERATURE 5 The Prison Environment 5 Sexual Assault in Prison 8 The Impact of Victimization 10 Offender Re-Entry 14 METHODOLOGY 17 Design and Sample Selection 17 Data Collection and Procedures 22 Changes to the Original Protocol 36 RESULTS 39 Sample Description 39 Prison Victimization Data 40 Characteristics of Selected Victimization Incidents 53 Re-Entry Outcomes 73 CONCLUSIONS 92 IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE 100 REFERENCES 107 APPENDICES A. Data Collection Instruments 118 B. Coercion Index 162 iii This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Abstract With the adoption of the Prison Rape Elimination Act in 2003, institutions around the country began developing policies and procedures related to the detection, prevention, and elimination of sexual victimization in prison. The research, however, was in its infancy and little was known regarding the context, severity, and impact of victimization on a variety of outcomes. This study explored the impact of emotional, physical, and/or sexual victimization on inmates who were returning to the community. Few, if any studies have explored the additive effect victimization may have on an already difficult transition period for offenders. The study hypothesized that victimization intensified mental health problems and criminal behavior. Recently released prisoners from twenty-two halfway houses and prisons in Ohio, were selected for this study. Standardized instruments were utilized to assess the inmates’ psychological status in various areas, including but not limited to post-traumatic cognitions, depression, anxiety, social support, coping, and criminality. The final analysis compared recidivism rates between those who report having been victimized and those who have reported not being victimization. The findings from this study have implications for policy and practice. For example, by examining patterns of victimization, administrators may be able to develop strategies towards identifying those at risk for victimization even in an inmate who has not come forward, thereby facilitating early, needed interventions. Early detection and intervention could significantly reduce the negative impact of victimization on inmates. Additionally, this study provides support for expanding the types of services provided to incarcerated individuals, both in the institution and after release. It is important that practitioners identify and comprehend the impact that victimization can have on reentry, short- and long-term. iv This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Executive Summary The primary purpose of this project was to determine the impact of prison victimization on outcomes for those returning to the community. The project had two objectives. The first objective was to add our voice to the debate regarding prison sexual assault. The second was to extend the previous research by examining the impact of victimization on inmate re-entry. The study defined reentry as the process the offender experiences as he progressed from living in an institutional setting to a community setting. Although prison rape was the central concern under the PREA legislation, this project employed a broad definition of victimization. Expanding the scope of victimization allowed for the consideration and impact of various types on behavior. Acts of victimization included any coerced, tricked, or forced action between inmates that included any physical, emotional/verbal, and/or sexual activities that could cause harm to an individual. This included thefts, sexual assault, rape, physical assault, coercion (including indebtedness for protection or goods while incarcerated), and emotional or verbal abuse (including threats and derogation). This study separated those acts that were classified as sexual assault by the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) definition from those acts that were coerced. In addition, the study examined how often those acts occurred. Finally, the study added to the existing literature by also considering witnessed episodes of violence. While many researchers have examined the causes and correlates of victimization in prison, few if any, have explicitly linked those experiences to the inmate’s community adjustment post release. Community adjustment, more popularly referred to as the process of reentry, is a difficult one for many ex-inmates. Deficits in employment, housing, and literacy are rampant among this population. These deficits are often exacerbated by addictions, weak social support networks, and mental health issues. Moreover, the decades long incarceration boom, has left many states are grappling with increasing numbers of parolees without additional community resources. Even when spending increases, statistics indicate that the probability of an offender succeeding in the community upon