Social Indicators of Criminal Recidivism Among Ex-Prisoners with Mental Illness: A Prospective Analysis of Social Networks and Rearrest
The criminal justice system perpetuates a subculture of undereducated, underemployed, underpaid and disenfranchised individuals through structures and policies that generate and normalize stigmas. A vast majority of prisoners are male and the presence of serious mental illness is 3 to 6 times that of the general population. Ex-prisoners with mental illness have particularly difficult reentry experiences and higher rates of recidivism. Social network analysis is an underutilized means for understanding how social relationships affect behavior among ex-prisoners with mental illness. Given that attachment to social norms and values are critical to reintegration, this study explores the kinds of social relations that influence recidivism upon release. Though demographic characteristics, including race and age, are notable predictors of arrest, more malleable factors like social networks present optimal opportunities for intervention.
Methods:
Participants in this study were 216 men with mental illness incarcerated in the New Jersey state prison system, who participated in an NIMH-funded randomized controlled trial of Critical Time Intervention between 2007 and 2012. Recidivism data was provided by the New Jersey Department of Corrections and defined by rearrest within a two-year period following release. Social network indicators were self-reported, using items and scales from the Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire, the CONNECT measure, and the Level of Service Inventory-Revised measure. Sociodemographic, criminal justice and social network characteristics were included in a model predicting rearrest. An exploratory prospective binary logistic regression predicting re-arrest was conducted using Stata 12.0.
Results:
47% of the sample was African-American and nearly 94% had a serious mental illness. Results of a hierarchical logistic regression showed that contact with more non-incarcerated network members (OR=1.33, 95% CI=1.01-1.76) and having a mostly absent support network (defined as one or no reported supports) (OR=3.17, 95% CI=1.12-8.99) predicted rearrest within two years. A positive norm of reciprocity in relationships reduced likelihood of rearrest (OR=.727, 95% CI=.53-.99). Being younger (OR=.92, 95% CI=.88-.96), African-American (OR=2.86, 95% CI=1.35-6.04) and having more past convictions (OR=1.07, 95% CI=1.01-1.14) also predicted rearrest within two years.
Conclusions and Implications:
Social network characteristics proved to be strong indicators of both rearrest and desistance from crime among male ex-prisoners with mental illness. Having a positive norm of reciprocity in social relationships reduced the likelihood of rearrest. This finding suggests there is a need to incorporate how individuals respond to others who act both favorably and unfavorably toward them when creating reentry interventions for this population. Two results presented seemingly contradictory findings on social networks, which opens up important pathways toward future inquiry. Results indicated that abundance of non-incarcerated network members and absence of a support network predicted rearrest upon release. Future research might consider composition of the networks as critical to the understanding of these dynamics. Future research might also consider whether these findings are relevant for incarcerated women with mental illness as well.