Coping With Freedom - A Study of Psychological Stress and Support in the Prison-to-Parole Transition

• NCJ Number: 79645
• Author(s): M W Renzema
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 319 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Sale Source: UMI Dissertation Services; Not Available Through National Institute of Justice/NCJRS Document Loan Program
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. State University of New York at Albany - doctoral dissertation

Annotation

This paper studies unintended recidivism by borrowing models and methods used by researchers studying psychological stress. It attempts to answer three questions related to psychological stress and coping strategies.

Abstract

The questions focus on (1) the extent that problems of living which confront parolees are experienced as psychological stress, (2) how parolees cope with stress generated by life problems, and (3) if differences in coping processes are significant enough to merit new strategies in parole research or revision of parole agency policies. The concepts of psychological stress and coping are discussed and necessary definitions of key terms are presented. Relevant past research on parole is discussed and the methods used in this investigation are outlined. The study sample consisted of 53 men who had had a prerelease interview and one or more postrelease interviews. Of these, 44 were interviewed 2-4 weeks after release, 39 were interviewed 3 months after release, and 36 were interviewed 6 months after release. Parolees' concerns about employment, money, relationships with their families, parole, stigmatization, self-management, and interpersonal relationships are delineated. Variations in concerns over time are examined and compared with parallel findings of other parole research. The paper develops a classification of parole coping styles that are linked with perceptions of the ex-offender's psychosocial environment and self-reports of instrumental coping. The correlates of these coping styles are examined and linked with demographic data, parole survival, and psychological data. Finally, implications of the paper's findings are discussed. The paper suggests that enough is now known so that parole practices which neither effectively serve nor effectively deter most parolees can be replaced with others which have at least the prospect of effectiveness. Tables, chapter notes, appendixes containing study instruments and data, and over 90 references are supplied. (Author summary modified)