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      • HARVEST
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      A Life-History Approach to Community Reintegration: Female Ex-Offenders' Experiences of Facilitators and Barriers of Successful Community Reintegration

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      BROWN-THESIS-2018.pdf (1.474Mb)
      Date
      2018-10-03
      Author
      Brown, Kelsey Nicole 1990-
      ORCID
      0000-0002-9470-0328
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Masters
      Metadata
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      Abstract
      Research suggests that the experiences of female offenders differ greatly from their male counterparts; however, because females only make up a small proportion of offenders in North America, community reintegration programs often focus on male offenders (Belknap, 2007). This shortcoming stimulated the current study, which was conducted to better understand the experiences of reintegration for female offenders as told by the women themselves. Using life-history interviews with five female ex-offenders, accessed through the Elizabeth Fry Society of Saskatchewan, in-depth stories about reintegration were created from the perspective of those closest to these experiences (Patton, 2002). The data were analyzed using a narrative analysis approach in which stories were re-written in chronological order. Each story depicts a single character and underlines the events and meanings prescribed by the participants themselves. Results indicated several shared themes across participants’ stories that referred pathways to crime, experiences during and after incarceration, facilitators and barriers to successful reintegration and resilience. Whether participants were first-time or repeat offenders, results offered some support for past research regarding pathways to crime and difficulties with community reintegration; however, various unique and distinct experiences emerged. The nature of the study allowed for an in-depth exploration of issues including family reunification, stigma and securing stable employment, and gave participants a chance to share their stories. These stories suggest various implications for research and practice such as one-on-one counselling, child advocacy and concrete release planning, which may lead to improved support for female offenders during and after incarceration.
      Degree
      Master of Arts (M.A.)
      Department
      Psychology
      Program
      Psychology
      Supervisor
      Wormith, J. Stephen
      Committee
      Olver, Mark; McMullen, Linda; Prime, Steven; Peternelj-Taylor, Cindy
      Copyright Date
      July 2018
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/11276
      Subject
      Community Reintegration, Female Offenders, Life-History Analysis
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