What Matters to Formerly Incarcerated Men? Looking Beyond Recidivism as a Measure of Successful Reintegration

• DOI: 10.1177/0032885520939295
• Published date: 01 September 2020
• Date: 01 September 2020
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885520939295

The Prison Journal

2020, Vol. 100(4) 488 –509

© 2020 SAGE Publications

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/0032885520939295

journals.sagepub.com/home/tpj

Article

What Matters to

Formerly Incarcerated

Men? Looking Beyond

Recidivism as a

Measure of Successful

Reintegration

Tia S. Andersen1, Deena A. Isom Scott1,

Hunter M. Boehme1, Sarah King1,

and Toniqua Mikell2

Abstract

This study explored how men recently released from prison conceptualized

successful reentry. Qualitative analysis of 12 in-depth life history interviews

with formerly incarcerated men revealed that they defined success beyond the

literature’s typical focus on criminal behavior avoidance and future criminal

justice system contact. The study found several interconnected definitions of

success. Central to participants’ conceptions were connection to legitimate

employment, ownership, or entrepreneurship, using past experiences to assist

other former offenders or recovering addicts with their problems, and the

achievement of heteronormative masculine expectations. The implications of

these findings for future research and practice are discussed.

Keywords

reentry, qualitative research, masculinity, feminist theory

1University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA

2University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, USA

Corresponding Author:

Tia S. Andersen, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of South

Carolina, 1305 Greene Street, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.

Email: tstevens@mailbox.sc.edu

939295TPJXXX10.1177/0032885520939295The Prison JournalAndersen et al.

research-article2020

Andersen et al. 489

Introduction

Because most of those incarcerated will be released (Travis & Visher, 2005),

mass incarceration has resulted in a steep rise in the number of individuals

reentering society. More than 600,000 individuals are released from state and

federal prisons annually (Carson, 2018). Most research examining reentry

focus on a single outcome—recidivism, measured as new justice system con-

tact, such as a technical parole violation, arrest, conviction, or incarceration

(for a discussion, see Ruggero et al., 2015). But, “reentry is more than recidi-

vism” (Lynch, 2006, pp. 405–406). Lack of recidivism as the sole indicator

of “successful” reentry overlooks human and social factors such as physical

and psychological well-being, relationships with others, occupational and

educational goals, and other prosocial engagements (Bowman & Travis,

2012). Furthermore, using recidivism as the only outcome indicator dimin-

ishes the importance of factors that are significant for positive reintegration

(Petersilia, 2004; C. A. Visher & Travis, 2003) and reduces the individual to

a single incident post-release while essentially erasing prosocial progress

toward reintegration.

This study takes a holistic approach to understanding successful reintegra-

tion for men. Through structured interviews with formerly incarcerated men,

we examined what success following incarceration means to those navigating

the reentry process. Our analysis gives voice to an often voiceless population

and expands our knowledge around their specific goals and needs. Below, we

outline previous empirical work that goes beyond classic recidivism out-

comes, and we highlight the need for a holistic exploration of men’s percep-

tions of successful reentry.

Success Beyond Recidivism

Although recidivism is the predominant outcome of interest in the reentry lit-

erature, several scholars have incorporated other established risks and needs

into their assessments of reentry and desistence. Barriers to successful reentry,

including access to education, employment, housing, and social services, have

received extensive assessment (e.g., Petersilia, 2003, 2004; C. A. Visher et al.,

2017), with some scholars giving voice to incarcerated people’s perceptions of

their needs for a successful transition (e.g., Morani et al., 2011; C. Visher

et al., 2007). For example, Cobbina (2010) highlighted women’s perceptions

of their needs for successful return to their communities, such as family sup-

port, supportive probation/parole officers, and access to post-release networks

(see also Doherty et al., 2014). Similarly, Denney and colleagues (2014) inter-

viewed formerly incarcerated men and women about what influenced their