An Examination of the Impact of Formerly Incarcerated Persons Helping others

Abstract

This study builds upon theory and research concerning the helper therapy principle, mutual-help groups, wounded healers, and retroflexive reformation to examine the possible benefits of helping others in a sample of 228 formerly incarcerated persons in prisoner reintegration programs. A 4-item helper/wounded healer orientation scale was developed. OLS regression analysis was used to determine if this orientation is related to psychological well-being and/or acts as a sort of buffer against criminality. The results indicate that the helper/wounded healer orientation has a positive relationship with higher self-esteem and greater satisfaction with life, and a negative relationship with having a criminal attitude and the forecast of rearrest. The finding that helping helps the helper suggests that this principle should be recognized for its potential in facilitating the recovery and reintegration of formerly incarcerated persons.

Giving Back and Getting Something Back: The Role of Mutual-Aid Groups for Individuals in Recovery From Incarceration, Addiction, and Mental Illness

“…More studies are needed that focus on the use of the helper/wounded healer orientation with people who have been formerly incarcerated so that LeBel's (2007) findings can be replicated and/or expanded upon and hopefully lend credence to advancing the field toward a more strengths-based discourse for individuals with former incarcerations. In addition, although there have been some mutual-aid groups specifically developed for people with former incarcerations, there is a dearth of research studies on these mutual-aid/self-help groups in the literature.…”

The role of self-help efforts in the reintegration of ‘politically motivated’ former prisoners: implications from the Northern Irish experience

“…Grant [21] noted the impact of utilising ex-prisoners as a "manpower resource in correctional rehabilitation and re-entry programs, building the benefits for training prisoners for 'change agent roles'" (pp.226-34). LeBel [50] observed the increased role of self-help and the "helper principle" played in programs developed in the 1970s, reflecting on the work of McAnany and colleagues' [61], study on former prisoners which found that, "a self-help orientation comes very close to being the identifying mark of [the] groups, and appears to be based on a realisation that their identity as prisonised persons requires self-help" (p. 26).…”

“…Recent criminological research (see [50,56,57]) has rejuvenated discussions of the helper principle under the umbrella of the "strengths-based paradigm" in corrections, contending that "the helper principle should be recognised for its potential to facilitate recovery and reintegration of former incarcerated persons" ( [50], p. 24). LeBel [50] argues:…”

“…LeBel [50] notes that the helper/wounded healer orientation can transform individuals from being part of the "problem" into part of the "solution" as they give their time in the service of helping others who are less far along in the recovery and reintegration process (see [58,72], p. 225). Moreover, Maruna and colleagues [59] have noted the importance the role individual actions have in the removal of stigma and subsequent place of persons in society.…”

“…LeBel's [50] research on a sample of over 200 ex-prisoners provides the most systematic evidence to date of these benefits of involvement in advocacy as a coping orientation for ex-prisoners. His survey research found that an activist or advocacy orientation is positively correlated with one's psychological well-being, and in particular their satisfaction with life as a whole.…”