The Well-Being Impacts Associated with College in Prison: A Comparison of Incarcerated and Non-Incarcerated Students Who Identify as Women

• Author: Sarah Y. Moore,Tanya Erzen
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00328855221139843
• Published date: 01 January 2023
• Date: 01 January 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

The Well-Being Impacts

Associated with College

in Prison: A Comparison

of Incarcerated and

Non-Incarcerated

Students Who

Identify as Women

Sarah Y. Moore and Tanya Erzen

Abstract

Benef‌its of college in prison (CIP) programs often center on reduced recidi-

vism and other post-release adjustment outcomes. This article argues for

broader recognition of positive outcomes to include well-being, coping, and

academic engagement for incarcerated students, noting the specif‌ic challenges

for female-identifying inmates with backgrounds that often include high levels

of abuse and violence. Using longitudinal data from female-identifying students

in a CIP program and comparison data from a matched non-incarcerated

sample, improvements in these outcome measuresare demonstrated as incar-

cerated students remain in the program. Importantly, their measures of well-

being, coping, and academic engagement were signif‌icantly better than the

matched non-incarcerated sample for most measures. Further, the possible

underlying mechanism for the f‌indings is discussed, linking them to program

characteristics that emphasize the development of community, agency, and

personalized—in-person education—qualities that are in alignment with

trauma-informed practices.

University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Sarah Moore, University of Puget Sound Department of Psychology, 1500 N. Warner St.,

Tacoma, WA 98416, USA.

Email: smoore@pugetsound.edu

Article

The Prison Journal

2023, Vol. 103(1) 3–22

© 2022 SAGE Publications

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/00328855221139843

journals.sagepub.com/home/tpj

Keywords

college-in-prison, well-being, gender

Introduction

Among the multiple benef‌its associated with college in prison (CIP) pro-

grams, advocates often cite lower recidivism rates as a means of justifying

such educational expenditures to critics who voice concern over the cost-

prohibitive nature of higher education for non-incarcerated members of

society (Harnish, 2019). That is, connecting educational attainment to reduc-

tions in recidivism highlights the benef‌it to society-at-large in the form of

lower crime rates or incarceration costs that require public funding.

Scholars speculate that the association between higher education and lower

recidivism—a relationship now well documented in the extant literature—is

mediated via many mechanisms, including higher rates of post-release

employment or higher wages and salaries (Cho & Tyler, 2013; Davis et al.,

2013; Duwe & Clark, 2014; Erisman & Contardo, 2005; Kim & Clark,

2013; Vacca, 2004).

Acknowledging that the question of who is “deserving”of affordable

education is fraught with many complexities, we argue that there are

many other benef‌its associated with higher education besides the actually

earned degree that may also mediate the relationship with lower recidi-

vism. For example, enhanced self-esteem and coping skills (from accom-

plishing diff‌icult tasks), specif‌ic academic skills and abilities (e.g.,

argument development and writing), meaningful social connections

(from contacts with students and faculty), and “soft skills”(e.g., time man-

agement and stress management) are frequently cited as benef‌its of higher

education (Morales, 2012; Pascarella & Blaich, 2013; Seifert et al., 2008).

As a set, these types of experiences may contribute to an overall improved

sense of well-being, coping, and academic engagement for all students;

however, we believe these may be arguably more impactful for those

who are incarcerated given that there are fewer opportunities to learn

such skills in prison.

With such a strong focus on reducing recidivism rates, however, coupled

with the methodological challenges of making causal inferences between edu-

cation and well-being, these broader outcomes have not received much atten-

tion in previous research. The present study proposes to add to the growing

body of literature that calls for scholars to attend to these broader outcomes

(e.g., Gould, 2018; McCorkel & DeFina, 2019). Namely, we examine the

connection between educational participation and well-being, coping, and

4The Prison Journal 103(1)