Sunday, February 18, 2007

More NCJRS Abstracts, Sunday, February 18, 2007

AMONG THE LATEST RESEARCH POSTED AT http://www.ncjrs.gov/. CHECK FOR OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST THERE AS WELL.

NCJ 216956
Rebecca L. Naser ; Nancy G. La Vigne
Family Support in the Prisoner Reentry Process: Expectations and Realities
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume:43 Issue:1 Dated:2006 Pages:93 to 106

Study findings showed that released prisoners relied very heavily on their families for support in navigating virtually every aspect of the reentry experience, from assistance with housing and employment to financial support and overall encouragement. Prisoners’ expectations for family support were consistently met or exceeded for most study participants. In addition, the quality of family relationships improved after release, as did prisoners’ views on the importance of family in staying out of prison. An important implication for practice is the fact that families provide even more support than soon-to-be-released prisoners anticipate suggesting that they shoulder a significant burden of the reentry challenges released prisoners face. Families may benefit from social support and services, as well as the development of programs that capitalize on the family support. While there have been very few attempts to understand the role of family relationships and support on reentry success or failure, it is reasonable to hypothesize that family members have an impact on released prisoners as they meet the challenges associated with their return to society. This article explores the question of whether prisoners’ expectations of how life will be on the outside are realized with regard to family support, as well as to the extent to which those expectations are met. The article examines the differences between anticipated and actual levels of familial support among a sample of 413 male prisoners returning to the cities of Baltimore and Chicago. Figures, notes, and references

NCJ 216971
Paul Schewe ; Stephanie Riger ; April Howard ; Susan L. Staggs ; Gillian E. Mason
Factors Associated with Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Victimization
Journal of Family Violence Volume:21 Issue:7 Dated:October 2006 Pages:469 to 475

This study explored factors associated with a lifetime history of domestic violence and sexual assault victimization in a sample of welfare recipients in the State of Illinois. The results of the study revealed several similarities and differences between factors related to domestic violence and sexual assault. The one overwhelming similarity is that childhood exposure to domestic violence is a significant risk factor for both sexual assault and domestic violence victimization. Being physically abused as a child was associated with lifetime domestic violence, but not lifetime sexual assault. For domestic violence victimization, the finding was that increased education and job skills were risk factors that supported the theory that domestic violence occurred when men perceived that their partner had more power in their relationship. Surprisingly, frequent alcohol and drug use were not associated with either type of victimization. Research suggests that drug and alcohol use can be both a risk factor and a consequence of victimization, as survivors self-medicate to manage their pain associated with victimization. Although many studies have been conducted exploring factors related to sexual assault and domestic violence victimization, it has remained unclear whether domestic violence and sexual assault share a common set of factors. Through the use of parallel logistic regression equations, this study sought to predict lifetime experience of sexual assault and domestic violence among a low-income sample of welfare recipients in Illinois. Tables, references

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