Journal article
Gender differences in experiences of social support among men and women releasing from prison
Journal of social and personal relationships, Vol.35(9), pp.1161-1182
10/2018
DOI: 10.1177/0265407517705492
Abstract
Positive social support is critically important to postprison well-being outcomes. However, researchers and program developers are still trying to understand how to best promote stable and sustainable social support for formerly incarcerated individuals during reentry to the community. We sought to add to the body of knowledge on social support and prisoner reentry by comparing men and women releasing from prison on the quality (e.g., positive or negative) and amount of informal social support.
Methods:
A random sample of 395 male (n = 165) and female (n = 230) releasing prisoners participated in the study. After unadjusted bivariate comparisons, multivariate regression was conducted to identify gender differences in preincarceration social support quality of influence and anticipated number of postrelease support persons while controlling for important covariates such as substance abuse and mental illnesses.
Results:
Males reported higher rates of negative social support overall, and females reported higher rates of both mixed and positive social support compared to their male counterparts. Older participants reported higher levels of positive support compared to younger participants. Men of color reported significantly higher levels of positive support than their White male counterparts. Overall, women had higher prevalence of behavioral health factors that complicate quality of support. However, there were no differences in gender found for the amount of perceived social support available postrelease in the unadjusted models.
Implications:
Study findings suggest the need for gender-specific and culturally tailored targets for prisoner reentry programs addressing social support. Possible adaptations for interventions are explored.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Gender differences in experiences of social support among men and women releasing from prison
- Creators
- Carrie Pettus-Davis - Washington University in St. Louis, USAChristopher A Veeh - Washington University in St. Louis, USAMaxine Davis - Washington University in St. Louis, USAStephen Tripodi - Florida State University, USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of social and personal relationships, Vol.35(9), pp.1161-1182
- DOI
- 10.1177/0265407517705492
- ISSN
- 0265-4075
- eISSN
- 1460-3608
- Grant note
- DOI: 10.13039/100000025, name: National Institute of Mental Health, award: 5P30MH079930
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/2018
- Academic Unit
- Social Work
- Record Identifier
- 9984002586102771
Metrics
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