Self-reported offending and drug use after prison release: The pernicious role of stress during reentry

Objectives

Diverse research demonstrates that unmanageable stressors are relentless on the body and brain, especially among individuals reentering society post-incarceration. Research has begun to examine how non-criminological factors are implicated in pathways leading to crime and deviance. However, the existing body of knowledge lacks specificity regarding the biopsychosocial constructs related to offending and drug use during reentry. The study evaluates the confounding nature of perceived stress on offending and drug use during the months after prison release, in light of extant literature's established effects of mental health on crime.

Methods

Using a sample of men released from Texas prisons (n = 499) across two waves of LoneStar Project data, the study explores the degree to which mental health is associated with self-reported offending and drug use. Logistic regression and Karlson-Holm-Breen.

mediation analysis are utilized with an explicit focus on how stress is fundamentally implicated within these relationships.

Results

Results indicate that while mental health issues are problematic for drug use and offending post-release, analyses reveal that stress confounds associations between mental health, offending, and drug use.

Conclusions

Practical implications include utilizing family support during the decisive months post-incarceration as well as an emphasis on strategies for stress management among returning individuals.