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The Role of Relationships for Adults Who Served Long Prison Sentences that Began in Childhood: A Mixed Methods Approach

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2023
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dissertation
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The US is the only country in the world to sentence children to die in prison. As of 2016, there were over 12,000 people in US prisons who had, starting between the ages of 12 and 17, been sentenced to spend the rest of their lives behind bars. Several Supreme Court rulings have opened the door for reconsideration of some of these sentences, resulting in the release of more than 980 “juvenile lifers.” Trauma histories, depleted social networks, diminished well-being and complex barriers to reentry are well-documented realities for people leaving prison after long sentences that began in adulthood. However, the post-release lives of those who served life and long sentences that began during childhood remain almost completely unexplored.

This dissertation study, believed to be the first national study of returned juvenile lifers, used mixed methods with a social network component to explore the post-release lives of this population. Findings are reported from a quantitative sample of 78 juvenile lifers from 24 US states and Washington, DC, with social network analytic tools considering the type, quality, and social support of the sample’s 555 social network members. Data from in-depth semi-structured interviews with 46 of the 78 participants were compared and integrated into the quantitative data. Quantitative analyses included multivariate regression and multi-level modeling, while qualitative analyses used thematic analysis.

Respondents report high quality of life, overall positive relationships, high amounts of social support, and very little undermining. In a multiple regression model, attending religious services, spending more than 20 years in prison, and having fewer unmet reentry needs were all associated with higher well-being. Themes were developed regarding how respondents navigated different types of relationships (with family members, romantic partners, friends), life in prison, barriers to reentry, and parole, as well as their well-being. Positive relationship assessments, supportive relationships, number of types of support, and proportion of friends in a network were all associated with higher quality of life scores in social networks. Social network age, race, employment, and incarceration history were also associated with altered levels of well-being. Research, policy, and practice implications are discussed.

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University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Social Work. Ph.D. 2023.
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