Hope, Resilience, and Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Justice-Involved Individuals in Turkey: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background and Purpose: Turkey had the highest incarceration rate among European countries in 2021. Every day, the formerly incarcerated people attempt to reintegrate back into their communities but face challenges such as obtaining stable employment, permanent housing, support, and adjusting to new circumstances. Evidence-based reentry policies and probation programs enacted recently have improved outcomes for people released from prison. The probation system, managed by the government in Turkey, includes programs, resources, and services aimed at preventing criminal activities. Hope is crucial in coping with adversity, and studies have shown that resilience can protect those involved in the criminal justice system. Additionally, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) significantly impact future victimization and criminal behavior, with individuals having ACEs more likely to engage in criminal activities. No studies in Turkey have examined the relationship between hope, resilience, and ACEs within the criminal justice system. This study aims to explore these relationships among justice-involved individuals in Turkey, offering significant insights into criminal justice, public safety, and public health.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 106 individuals actively involved in probation services in a mid-sized Turkish city. All participants were over 18 years old and voluntarily participated. Data was collected during client meetings with various trained service providers, with the survey taking approximately five minutes. The Adult Hope Scale (Snyder et al., 1991), the Brief Resilience Scale (Smith et al., 2008), and the ACEs Questionnaire (Felitti et al., 1998) were used to measure hope, resilience, and ACEs, respectively. Data was analyzed using two linear regression models: the first examined the moderation effect of ACEs on the relationship between hope and resilience, and the second assessed whether hope or ACEs predicted participant resilience.

Results: The participants ranged in age from 18 to 66. The majority of the participants were male (n=97). Researchers run two models to examine the relationship between ACE’s hope and resilience. The first model revealed that ACEs did not moderate the relationship between hope and resilience (b = .059, p > .05). Similarly, the second model indicated that neither hope (b = .10, p > .05) nor ACEs (b = .17, p > .05) significantly predicted resilience, contradicting findings from previous research conducted in Europe and the United States.

Conclusions and Implications: This study fills a significant gap in the literature by examining hope, resilience, and justice involvement in Turkish criminology. Our findings challenge previous research, indicating that hope and ACEs do not significantly predict individual resilience in this context. This underscores the importance of considering context-specific and cultural factors when interpreting research findings and suggests that professionals working with justice-involved individuals should consider these unique factors. Additionally, the study provides significant information for future researchers and professionals to consider differences in criminal justice systems and cultural factors before implementing interventions. These conclusions highlight the need for context-specific approaches and cultural considerations in understanding and addressing issues related to hope, resilience, and justice involvement within criminology.