Beyond Recidivism: How Incarcerated individuals Use Prison-Based Activities to Manage the Conditions of Incarceration and Preserve Autonomy

• In Event: 49.088 - Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: 49.088-24 - Outcomes Beyond Achievement and Attainment

Abstract

Many of the 2.2 million people incarcerated in the U.S., participate in prison-based programming or employment. I use Boston Reentry Study data (n=122) and interviews with a convenience subsample (n=28) to examine how recently incarcerated individuals describe their motivations for participation and experiences in prison-based activities. I find that imprisoned individuals strategically participated in programs and jobs to address the immediate conditions of incarceration and preserve a sense of autonomy. Most respondents indicated that activities were only somewhat helpful to them, due to insufficiently trained facilitators or misaligned content. These findings add to existing research on in-prison programs and jobs and point to considerations, in addition to recidivism and employment, that may be of interest to researchers and policy makers.

Author

• Abena Subira Mackall, Harvard University