M.A. / Every year in South Africa more than 600 000 individuals leave correctional facilities to return to the community (Visher and Travis 2003, p.89). In spite of a significant crime control problem in South Africa, there is very little public or government interest shown in what happens to ex-offenders once released from prison. The focus of the study is on understanding the critical social factors that contribute towards effective offender rehabilitation and reintegration at various stages of the reintegration process after release from prison. The needs and experiences of those recently released (two to four months) are compared with those who have been released for up to one year (six to twelve months) and those who have been released for a longer period (three to four years). The researcher identified that most research studies on post prison rehabilitation and reintegration have focused on the individual factors rather than on the social factors. Traditionally, offender rehabilitation and reintegration has been the responsibility of the Department of Correctional Services. More recently, the White Paper on Corrections and the new Community Justice Models (Maruna and Immarigeon, 2004, p.233) emphasize that offender reintegration is a collective process. Central to this approach is the importance of community engagement and informal social controls in promoting public safety. This qualitative study was undertaken with twelve adult male Zulu-speaking African ex-offenders who had been released from Qalakabusha Correctional Centre in Empangeni (northern Kwa-Zulu Natal). The sampling strategy was non-random and purposive. The majority of participants interviewed had committed violent crimes, with the exception of two participants who had committed less serious offences. The majority of respondents were still serving parole, having been released early on the grounds of “good behaviour”. They had also participated in rehabilitation programmes provided by various service providers while in prison. Individual interviews using a semi-structured interview schedule were conducted with the respondents. A pilot study was conducted to test for the reliability and validity of the instrument. This was followed by a focus group. The focus group assisted in gaining more in-depth information, clarification and validation of shared experience. The information was processed during the data analysis phase of the research process. The information was then organized and compiled into the research report as presented. Five major themes were identified namely the Impact of imprisonment, Preparation for release, Maintenance and upkeep, Social support systems and Staying out of crime. Three major protective social factors or key ingredients for successful reintegration identified in the study include family support, the ability to provide for oneself and family and opportunities to contribute positively in communities.

This thesis examines how long-term prisoners make sense of their sentence: what they see as its purpose, whether they think it fair and how they integrate their sentence in their life story. Its findings are based on narrative interviews with six men at the start of their sentence, twelve men who were about to be released and nine men who were under supervision in the community. The men interviewed felt the prison largely failed in its purposes of reform, rehabilitation and deterrence, even though these outcomes were much desired, as almost all wanted to desist. Reformative efforts were seen as overly relying on cognitive behavioural courses in the prison, which, because they were compulsory for progression within the prison, were attended by many who were not motivated to engage with them. Furthermore, the men felt that they were treated as an aggregate rather than as individuals with individual needs and that this meant the necessary supports upon release were often not put in place. Meaningful communication about the relationship between the offence and the sentence was largely lacking. Any moral communication in the courtroom was hampered by the emotional demands on the men at the sentencing stage, their wish to manipulate the outcome in their own favour and their perception that court actors, too, manipulated processes, thereby lessening the moral standing of the court. However, despite the common perception of sentences failing to achieve any desired outcome and other complaints - about the inconsistency of sentencing, the standing of the court to judge and miscarriages of justice - almost all the men nevertheless positioned their sentence as fair (enough) in their narrative. While some referred to normative reasons to explain the legitimacy of their sentence, for others their acceptance was determined by their need to cope with the lived reality of imprisonment. This led to a strategy of ‘getting your head down’, which included accepting the ‘justice’ of one’s sentence, but also limiting thoughts of the outside world and minimising contact with family. Others positioned their prison sentence as transformative in order to be able to construct a progressive narrative and make sense of a desired future of desistance. However, the men on license after release generally struggled to maintain a projected upward trajectory and only felt able to desist by isolating themselves, thereby avoiding further trouble. The thesis concludes that long-term prison sentences could be rendered more meaningful through greater individual input and a dialogue about questions of purpose and meaning, possibly initiated by community criminal justice social workers. In order to promote desistance, it is important that those who are released have better chances to secure an alternative identity for themselves so that they can move into a new stage of their lives, rather than withdrawing from the world in order to desist.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Duquesne University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 92-102) and index.

D.Litt. et Phil. / The need for instruments for the assessment of prisoners to enhance rehabilitation was identified by the Department of Correctional Services. The Department of Correctional Services requested the supervisor to develop instruments for assessing prisoners. The researcher was requested to develop instruments for a specific area of assessment, namely, family assessment. Focus groups were used to identify the specific focus of the assessment instruments for prisoners. Analyzing the results of the focus groups lead to identifying the specific needs regarding a broad field of assessment areas. The main focus of family assessment that was identified through the focus groups are: • Partner satisfaction • Satisfaction with parenting • Relationship with parent (mother and or father) • Satisfaction with support • Family functioning The process of scale development as described by Faul (1995) was discussed. Specific attention was given to the different phases of this process, namely the pre-development phase, development phase, validation phase, and utilization phase. The systems theory was used as theoretical frame for the development of the assessment instruments. From the communication approach, strategic approach, and the structural approach, an integrated approach was developed. This integrated approach was used as conceptual frame for the development of assessment instruments. The five assessment areas were operationalized. Attributes that can be associated with each construct were used to give a definition of each construct. The attributes of the constructs were used as the basis for item generation when the scales were developed. Five steps were followed in the development phase. The items were designed, the scale lengths were determined, items were scaled, a scoring formula was developed, and instructions were written. In the validation phase, the reliability and the validity of the new scales were investigated. The results of the validation study show that the newly developed scales are reliable and valid, and can be used for family assessment of prisoners. Methodological conclusions were used to make recommendations regarding the use of the assessment instruments, the development of programmes, and further research that must be done.

M.A. / Four out of every 1000 South Africans are in correctional facilities and adult males make up the majority of the total prison population in South Africa (Department of Correctional Services, 2005). Most prisoners eventually return to society and returning to criminal behaviour can occur very quickly. Ex-offenders face many challenges when reintegrating into society. Yet despite these challenges and the high rates of recidivism, many former offenders have achieved a socially approved adjustment, overcome their problems and become contributing members of society. Unfortunately one seldom hears the stories of those who have successfully reintegrated into society and there seems to be a lack of research in this area. Existing literature is largely focused on external factors which facilitate successful reintegration. However, there is a paucity of research on the psychofortological factors, such as psychological strengths and posttraumatic growth, which may contribute to this process. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify and explore psychofortological factors which may contribute to the successful reintegration of adult male ex-offenders into society. This research was influenced by the paradigm of positive psychology. From this perspective, people should be assessed on both their emotional problems and their strengths. One of the main premises of the strengths perspective is that people are capable of changing (O’Brien, 2001). This change can be facilitated by identifying a person’s strengths and resources, and using one’s strengths may increase success in many areas of life (Compton, 2005). It is important to know what a person has learned from their experiences and what resources they used to overcome challenges (Smith, 2006). This is particularly important in the case of offenders, since these insights may contribute to more successful adaptation. Although there are various ways to transformation and rehabilitation, there may be important similarities in the viewpoints of those who are desisting from crime. Thus there is a need for such research which could ii provide useful information regarding psychofortological factors which may contribute to successful reintegration. A qualitative approach was employed to explore the personal experiences of ex-offenders who have successfully reintegrated into society. The participants consisted of five adult male ex-offenders, who were interviewed according to a semi-structured interview schedule. Content analysis of the interviews was done according to the approach of Miles and Huberman (1994).

D. Litt. et Phil. / The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive framework for the rehabilitative needs of female offenders, through the use of Grounded Theory methodology. The framework took the form of a two-axis structure, with axis one encompassing the management of prisons and staff, and axis two dealing with the management and rehabilitation of prisoners. Axis two was conceptualised as a sequence of stages from the start of imprisonment until post-release. The framework is offered as a holistic structure for the development and integration of rehabilitative programmes. The framework is anticipated to assist in obtaining additional funding and support from the business community in order to make rehabilitative programmes available to a greater number of prisoners. The framework may also enable individuals and companies to determine where the specific resources at their disposal could be put to use with the greatest effect.

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

This thesis examines the attitudes and rehabilitative potential of female inmates in a California state women's prison.

This thesis examines mortality rates among adults who experienced full-time imprisonment in New South Wales between January 1988 and December 2002, by record linkage to the Australian National Death Index. The cohort included 76383 men and 8820 women. Over a mean follow-up of 7.7 years, 5137 deaths (4724 men, 423 women) were identified. Three hundred and three deaths (295 men, eight women) occurred in custody. The median age at death was 36.6 years for men and 32.7 years for women. The prominent causes of death were drug overdose, suicide, accidental and cardiovascular disease. The crude mortality rate was 797 per 100000 person-years for men and 685 per 100000 person-years for women. Risk of mortality was 3.7 times greater in male and 7.8 times greater in female prisoners than the standard population. The excess mortality was substantially raised following release from prison in both men (standardised mortality ratio 4.0 vs 1.7) and women (standardised mortality ratio 8.2 vs 2.1). The period of highest risk of death was the first two weeks after release. Drug overdose was the main cause of death, responsible for 68% of the deaths in the first two weeks for men and for 90% of the deaths in this period for women. In men, there was also a clustering of suicide directly after release. Prisoners admitted to prison psychiatric hospital, repeat offenders and those in the early stage of followup were at increased risk of mortality. Violent offenders were overrepresented in suicide figures and property offenders in death from overdose. Minority groups, in particular men, had a lower risk of death than white people. The above findings reinforce how disadvantaged prisoners are, measured by mortality as the most fundamental scale of human wellbeing. Prison represents a potential opportunity for treatment and public health intervention to address some of the health problems underlying the high mortality found in this study. The key challenge is, however, to provide a continuum of care between the prison and community.

This thesis examines mortality rates among adults who experienced full-time imprisonment in New South Wales between January 1988 and December 2002, by record linkage to the Australian National Death Index. The cohort included 76383 men and 8820 women. Over a mean follow-up of 7.7 years, 5137 deaths (4724 men, 423 women) were identified. Three hundred and three deaths (295 men, eight women) occurred in custody. The median age at death was 36.6 years for men and 32.7 years for women. The prominent causes of death were drug overdose, suicide, accidental and cardiovascular disease. The crude mortality rate was 797 per 100000 person-years for men and 685 per 100000 person-years for women. Risk of mortality was 3.7 times greater in male and 7.8 times greater in female prisoners than the standard population. The excess mortality was substantially raised following release from prison in both men (standardised mortality ratio 4.0 vs 1.7) and women (standardised mortality ratio 8.2 vs 2.1). The period of highest risk of death was the first two weeks after release. Drug overdose was the main cause of death, responsible for 68% of the deaths in the first two weeks for men and for 90% of the deaths in this period for women. In men, there was also a clustering of suicide directly after release. Prisoners admitted to prison psychiatric hospital, repeat offenders and those in the early stage of followup were at increased risk of mortality. Violent offenders were overrepresented in suicide figures and property offenders in death from overdose. Minority groups, in particular men, had a lower risk of death than white people. The above findings reinforce how disadvantaged prisoners are, measured by mortality as the most fundamental scale of human wellbeing. Prison represents a potential opportunity for treatment and public health intervention to address some of the health problems underlying the high mortality found in this study. The key challenge is, however, to provide a continuum of care between the prison and community.