Facing and Overcoming Addiction: The Plight of Formerly Incarcerated Mothers Across Racial-Ethnic Groups

• In Event: Variation in Conflict, Ties, and Support During Reentry and Recovery

Abstract

Criminological literature has established that most women offenders have children under 18 and also have histories of substance abuse that influenced their involvement in the criminal justice system. Yet, it is less common for researchers to examine the interplay of motherhood and recovery within women’s post-incarceration experiences and to consider racial-ethnic differences within these narratives despite existing knowledge of sociocultural variations across racial and ethnic groups. To address these limitations, I draw upon interview data from a larger study on formerly incarcerated mothers of African American, West Indian, and Hispanic descent. The findings capture the cognitive transformations that were influential in the mothers’ ability to remain sober and subsequently desist from the associated offending behaviors. This paper also highlights how formerly incarcerated women manage recovery as mothers and how they perceive ethnic differences in the acceptance and assistance they received (or did not receive) from family members.

Author

• Janet Garcia-Hallett, Rutgers University