Life after incarceration: The impact of stability on formerly imprisoned Oxford House residents

Abstract

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, roughly 65% of the US prison population is diagnosed with a substance use disorder (SUD) and over 600,000 individuals are released from incarceration yearly. Thus, it is important to better understand the factors that allow individuals recovering from SUD to reintegrate into communities after incarceration. This study sought to understand the relationship between a personality mediator (stability) and quality of life (QOL) and belonging support (BS), as well as the relationship between this mediator and QOL and psychological sense of community (PSOC) for 131 individuals living in Oxford House (OH) recovery homes. Stability was found to mediate the relationship between BS and QOL, as well as PSOC and QOL. The findings suggest that OH is a supportive and positive recovery community for those with criminal justice backgrounds, particularly those with higher stability.

Keywords:

• Incarceration
• recovery home
• Oxford House
• substance use disorder

Disclosure statement

This is to acknowledge there are no financial interests or benefits that have arisen from the direct applications of our research.

Additional information

Funding

The present work was financially supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [AA022763].