Ex-offenders and Depression: A Study of the Efficacy of Mental Health Programs in Reducing Depression of Recently Released Ex-offenders

Problem Statement

According to research by Travis and Waul (2003), the personal challenges posed and psychological harms inflicted over the course of a prisoner’s period of incarceration have grown over the last several decades in the United States. These recent changes in life whilst inside prison have made the process of reintegration into society much more difficult and problematic. In order to remedy these problems, social and psychological programs and resources should be made available to prisoners within correctional facilities (Travis & Waul, 2003). Prisoners should be able to access these programs while they are still incarnated and continue to access them after they are released in order to effectively manage their symptoms of depression (Srivastava, 2013)

Background and Significance

Incarceration rates have increased significantly throughout the United States since the 1970s. Punishing those who do wrong and keeping them contained far away from the rest of society is now considered the justification for their imprisonment. These mental stigmas decreased the perception that meaning programs for prisoners, as well as social and mental health services, are needed to facilitate successful reintegration into society. The absence of these programs leaves ex-convicts struggling with depression, which can have very rehabilitating effects on their lives (Travis & Waul, 2003).

In addition, Gagliardi, Lovell, Peterson, and Jemelka (2004) reported that cruelty towards prisoners has also increased. Corrections personnel often resort to extreme forms of prison discipline, such as punitive isolation or supermax confinement, that are known for being destructive to resolving conflicts within prisons. These harsh methods only repress conflicts instead of resolving them (Gagliardi et al., 2004). As a result of these disciplinary actions, prisoners were subject to increased tensions and higher levels of fear and danger (Travis & Waul, 2003).

Research by Weigand (2009) reported that prisons have become more alienating to prisoners by the literal and psychological isolation of prisons from the surrounding communities. Resources that maintain the ties between prisoners and their families or others in the outside world are usually very scarce. Due to longer sentences and a greatly expanded scope of incarceration, more prisoners experienced the psychological pains of imprisonment for longer periods of time (Weigand, 2009). These people are likely to return to society upon their release at a great disadvantage, usually displaying symptoms of major depression and anxiety. In order to give them a chance to succeed after their release and in order to prevent recidivism, social services and supportive resources will have to be provided to guide them back into a world they have forgotten how to exist in (Travis & Waul, 2003).

Most importantly, while prison is known for leaving a psychological and emotional scar upon prisoners, these psychological effects vary from person to person and are usually reversible. Prison life is characterized by deprivation, which in order for an individual to adapt to, causes extremely atypical patterns and norms of living and interacting with others. As prisoners gradually become more accustomed to the wide range of restrictions, deprivations, and indignities that institutional life imposes, they subsequently become less equipped to handle the norms of the real world outside the prison. This discrepancy in how to behave and act often results in significant confusion and depression among ex-convicts when they are released. It is often very painful for them to look forward to their freedom after a long period of incarceration only to realize once they have it that they don’t remember how to function within it in order to properly enjoy it (Travis & Waul, 2003).

Literature Review

The term depression has been used to describe a feeling state or symptom, a syndrome or reaction, and a style of character and illness. Typically, depression is associated with an emotional state of dejection and sadness that ranges from mild discouragement and down-heartedness to feelings of utter hopelessness and despair (Weigand, 2009). According to Ekland-Olson, Supanic, and Cambell (1983), ex-convicts frequently experience a condition known as post-release depression, which is defined as a transient situational reaction that is characterized by cognitive realignment of definitions and expectations as well as related emotional and somatic reactions (Ekland-Olson et al., 1983).

As stated by Maruna (2004), rehabilitation is the process of re-enabling or making fit again. Almost every aspect of a prisoner’s life after being incarcerated changes (Maruna, 2004). When in prison, language, patterns of eating, sleep, managing time, and acceptable forms of social relations were all aspects of a convict's life that are controlled by the correctional facility (Ekland-Olson et al., 1983). As ex-convicts re-enter society, they experience a phase of reintegration that results from having personal control over their lives again. This phase is usually riddled with confusion, anxiety, missed cues, embarrassment, over intense impulses, and excitement that is soon followed by depression (Davis, Bahr, &Ward, 2012). The ex-convict has lived years without a purpose other than surviving. The entire span of life’s functional activities was structured by others instead of by themselves. During their incarceration, according to research by Maruna (2004), prisoners get used to being numbers, non-entities, who have no reason for their existence outside the completion of their sentence. Prisoners tend to see themselves as useless people who contribute nothing to life (Maruna, 2004). When they are released, the distance that separates them from law-abiding citizens usually magnifies. The depression that prisoners feel upon their release inevitably makes them feel very detached from their own actions and surroundings (Ekland-Olson et al., 1983). Ex-convicts struggle to re-learn the social skills they had before their incarceration in addition to managing money and transportation, figuring how to schedule their time, and how to take on the pace of normal work (Gagliardi et al., 2004).

The cognitive symptoms experienced during post-release depression are a result of the cognitive realignment of an individual’s definitions and expectations, which is a necessary process for anyone who is making a sudden dramatic change in their life circumstances. These symptoms include indecisiveness, memory impairment, space-time maladjustments, and a general perception of being in an unreal situation. After living without automation for years, individuals struggle when they are suddenly expected to be autonomous (Ekland-Olson et al., 1983).

Additionally, post-release depression can also cause feelings of anxiety and insecurity that translate into self-doubt and condemnation. Ex-convicts often feel apathetic or as if the joy is missing from their lives. These intense symptoms of depression amplify thoughts of suicide among those who feel alone, anxious, and insecure in an unfamiliar, joyless environment. For them, suicide seems to be the only solution to their feelings of isolation and alienation (Travis & Waul, 2003)

Ex-convict Depression and Social and Family Ties

According to the revised helplessness theory of depression discussed by Maruna (2004), individuals who have an explanatory style that invokes substantially internal, stable, and global attributions for negative life events in addition to external, unstable, and specific attributes for positive events will be the most at risk for becoming depressed when faced with unfortunate circumstances. The highly internal explanations for negative life events are thought to increase their risk for depression because they threaten an individual’s self-esteem. This type of thinking frequently occurs in ex-convicts who often believe they are bad people right after they have been released (Maruna, 2004).

The implication of these depression effects on parenting and family life can be profound. When parents who return from periods of incarceration are still dependent on institutional structures and routines, they will be unable to effectively organize the lives of their children or make autonomous decisions (Davis et al., 2012). Depression can cause people to remain emotionally over-controlled, which will make them feel alienated from others (Weigand, 2009). This feeling of alienation is counterproductive to the nurturing roles that are required of parenting. Additionally, depression can also cause individuals to withdraw socially and act aloof, which clashes with a family’s need for interdependence and close relationships (Travis & Waul, 2003).

Ex-Convict Depression and Employment

The amount of time than an ex-convict spent incarcerated prevents them from gaining any useful experience that will help them reintegrate into the workforce when they are released (Travis & Waul, 2003). Whatever pre-existing job skills they have prior to their incarceration tend to deteriorate along with all of their positive work habits or connections to employers they might have had before (Ekland-Olson et al., 1983). Therefore, ex-convicts are often very limited in their employability and often have low earnings potential. The inability to succeed in the workforce or pick up where they might have left off in their career only adds to an ex-convict's negative self-image and depressive symptoms (Gagliardi et al., 2004). While they were incarcerated, they could blame their stagnant place in life on their current situation. However, when they are responsible for their own failure to move forward after waiting so long for the opportunity to do so, feelings of depression and hopelessness tend to significantly intensity (Davis et al., 2012).

Ex-Convict Depression and Support Systems

The intensity and duration of post-release depression depend on the availability of interpersonalities. Usually, emotional support is more important than things like participation in family decisions. In the early stages of cognitive realignment, strong and intimate ties may be more important. However, in the later stages of cognitive realignment, where practical concerns are dominates, more distance connections are mediated through weak ties to the occupational structure may be the most important (Ekland-Olson et al., 1983).

According to the life course theory discussed by Davis, Bahr, and Ward (2012), resistance depends on both subjective factors and social influences. Subjective factors are internal characteristics that can be affected by depression, such as attitudes, self-esteem, identity, and motivation. Social influences include employment, marriage, parenthood, friends, and treatment interventions. These social networks are important for providing structure and opportunities that encourage law-abiding behaviors. They also allow the offender to distance themselves from the deviant environment and develop new scripts for their future. These social factors can have a positive influence on the internal factors and make the offender feel that change is possible. Change is most likely when offenders have the desire to change, believe that change is possible, and have the social support needed to assist them through the period of change (Davis et al., 2012).

References

Davis, C., Bahr, S., & Ward, C. (2012). The Process of Offender Reintegration: Perceptions of What Helps Prisoners Reenter Society. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 13(4), 446-469.

Ekland-Olson, S., Supancic, M., & Cambell, J. (1983). Post Release Depression and the Importance of Familial Support. Criminology, 21(2), 253-275.

Gagliardi, G. J., Lovell, D., Peterson, P. D., & Jemelka, R. (2004). Forecasting Recidivism In Mentally Ill Offenders Released From Prison. Law and Human Behavior, 28(2), 133-155.

Maruna, S. (2004). Desistance From Crime And Explanatory Style: A New Direction In The Psychology Of Reform. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 20(2), 184-200.

Srivastava, M. (2013). After-Care and Follow-up Services for the Released Offenders in Correctional Settings. The Indian Police Journal, 60(2), 92-111.

Travis, J., & Waul, M. (2003). Prisoners once removed: the impact of incarceration and reentry on children, families, and communities. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute Press.

Weigand, H. (2009). Rebuilding A Life: The Wrongfully Convicted & Exonerated. Public Interest Law Journal, 18(2), 427-437.