Nursing education that addresses gender identity and provides an opportunity for student health professionals to interact with transgender individuals may help promote affirming heath care practices and reduce prejudice toward transgender people. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(11):660-669.].
Research on persons with felony convictions readily acknowledges that the stigma associated with incarceration is an obstacle for successful reentry; we, therefore, employed a correlational research design utilizing a survey-based data collection method to investigate the relations among stigma consciousness, career barriers, and career-related self-efficacy in a sample of 148 men with felony convictions. Participants were recruited online and in person from various reentry organizations in the Midwestern United States. Findings revealed that stigma consciousness related to several career barriers and was inversely associated with career-related self-efficacy. Implications for providing services to persons with criminal backgrounds are discussed.
Impact StatementPersons with felony convictions experience obstacles to successful reentry as the consequence of receiving a conviction may extend well past their time served. These obstacles include the stigma associated with incarceration as well as career-related barriers. Mental health professionals should consider how stigma consciousness surrounding incarceration and reentry affects their clients' ability to secure meaningful employment.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of individuals with felony convictions are released into the community with the expectation that those reentering society will be "successful" upon reentry. Society tells persons with criminal backgrounds they have a "second chance" upon release, yet we are reluctant to provide the resources necessary to make this happen. Stigma is frequently identified as a potential obstacle to reentry (DeFina & Hannon, 2009;Shivy et al., 2007); however, research examining stigma surrounding conviction and obstacles to employment for felony convictions is lacking. Interviews with 14 men with felonies were examined to identify how the stigma associated with felony convictions has affected their perceived choice of employment options, including the potential barriers they experience to employment. Participants reported postconviction obstacles, specifically employment/job-related obstacles. They discussed experiencing stigma related to their felony convictions and described strategies employed to mitigate that stigma. Participants' work history involved largely manual labor work, and they discussed having work aspirations despite their felony convictions. Implications for counseling, future research, and limitations are discussed.
Impact StatementPersons with felony convictions experience obstacles to successful reentry as the consequence of receiving a conviction may extend well past their time served. This study suggests stigma associated with incarceration can serve as a significant barrier for men with felony convictions when trying to secure meaningful employment. Additionally, it highlights additional barriers men with felony convictions experience as they attempt to reenter the workforce.
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