This book presents a series of studies that investigate individual identity transformation from offender status to pro-social, non-offending roles highlighting the perspectives of the men and women who are current or were formerly incarcerated.

At a time when the scale of imprisonment in the United States has reached a historic high, researchers estimate that more than 600,000 individuals a year are released from prison to return to their home communities. These individuals have serious needs, such as finding employment and housing, reuniting with family members, and obtaining healthcare and treatment for alcohol and substance abuse problems. While research in this area has stressed these aspects of the transition from prison, a less explored area of research considers the role of internal identity shifts from that of an offender to one of citizen, and how this creates the conditions for desistance from criminal behavior both within the confines of a correctional facility and in the reentry process. This book presents a series of studies (mostly qualitative) that investigate individual identity transformation from offender status to pro-social, non-offending roles. Moreover, the work in this volume highlights the perspectives of the men and women who are current or formerly incarcerated people. Each piece provides an empirical analysis of the interaction between current or former prisoners and innovative pro-social programs and networks, which are grounded in the most current theoretical work about individual transformation and change. This book will be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates, researchers and lecturers in all fields within the social sciences, but especially criminology and criminal justice and sociology and social work/welfare.

Over 100 researchers from 16 countries contribute to the first comprehensive handbook on post-traumatic stress disorder. Eight major sections present information on assessment, measurement, and research protocols for trauma related to war veterans, victims of torture, children, and the aged. Clinicians and researchers will find it an indispensible reference, touching on such disciplines and psychiatry, psychology, social work, counseling, sociology, neurophysiology, and political science.

Developmental psychology is the science of how beings evolve throughout the lifespan. The focus is on individual behaviors in different contexts at different stages of development, beginning before birth and spanning into old age and until death. The study of law is concerned with when and why individuals do and do not conform to rules, norms, and laws, and as such, also focuses on behaviors. In The Oxford Handbook of Developmental Psychology and the Law, Allison D. Redlich and Jodi A. Quas have brought together experts across multiple disciplines, including psychology, criminology, education, law, and policy, who focus on the interface between developmental science and law across crucial but also very different periods of development. Chapters are written by leading and emerging scholars who review the existing literature in their respective fields, both integrating findings and highlighting ongoing controversies and gaps. The text is divided into sections that map onto developmental stages (birth through adolescence, adulthood, and aging) and then further into civil and criminal subsections. Coverage includes topics such as prenatal and infant abuse; the development of antisocial behavior in children, adolescents, and adults; questioning of minor and elderly victims, witnesses, and suspects; treatment of at-risk individuals across multiple settings (e.g., criminal courts, immigration, custody, and adoption hearings); experiences in prison; reentry transitions after incarceration; and reproductive and end-of-life legal rights. Insightful and forward looking, the Handbook provides crucial foundational knowledge of the field and offers concrete suggestions for next steps and conclusions for practitioners and scientists who are working to push the field forward and use the knowledge for more informed decision-making.

Women, Trauma, and Journeys towards Desistance: Navigating the Labyrinth provides an examination of women’s desistance from crime from a gender-responsive, trauma-informed perspective. The book is based on the reflections of fifty-six women over a three-year period as they transition from custody to the community. With the women, the author examines how experiences of trauma, victimisation, and intersectional oppression constrain access to traditional desistance supporting processes, including supportive relationships, identity construction, the exercise of agency, and engagement with treatment and interventions, reframing these processes from trauma-informed perspective. The book joins together the women’s insights and experiences with principles of gender-responsive, trauma-informed principles in a framework through which criminal justice practitioners can support women in their efforts to leave crime behind. The framework for practice is a fusion of concepts from desistance theory, principles of gender-responsivity, and trauma-informed practice designed to help women understand the root causes of the problems they face in the present whilst building on their resilience and strengths to achieve their goals for their futures. This book is ideal reading for scholars and students of criminology and criminal justice, particularly rehabilitation, gender and crime, and feminist criminology. It will also be of interest to academics and practitioners of forensic psychology and social work, as well as probation officers, social workers and prison officers.

Providing essential theoretical and practical guidelines for clinicians, educators, policymakers, and public health professionals, The Handbook of Addiction Treatment for Women is a comprehensive resource of the most current research and knowledge from recognized experts in the field of addiction and treatment. This much needed guide offers an historical context on the issue of women and addiction, examines the myriad challenges of the female addict, and includes recommendations for choosing a course of treatment that will meet the specific needs of an individual woman addict.