What women want: The importance of qualitative approaches in evaluating work with women offenders

Hedderman, Carol; Gunby, Clare; Shelton, Nicola

doi:10.1177/1748895810392188

Cited by 37 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The data are consistent with findings from a growing body of qualitative research that seeks to give a voice to women in the criminal justice system to identify what they think will support their efforts to desist from crime (e.g. Hedderman, Gunby &Shelton, 2011;McIvor, Trotter, &Sheehan, 2009;Malloch &McIvor, 2011). As we have discussed, women responded to workers who were relationship and strengths-focused rather than those who focused on deficits.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

The Effectiveness of Support and Rehabilitation Services for Women Offenders

Trotter

McIvor

Sheehan

2012

Australian Social Work

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There is a large body of research which suggests that support, rehabilitation and supervision programs can help offenders to reduce recidivism. The effectiveness of services is, however, dependent on the extent to which the workers who deliver them comply with "what works" principles and practices. Most of this research has been conducted with men and this study examines the extent to which these principles and practices apply to women. The study focuses on services offered to a group of women in prison in Victoria and following their release to the community. It examines the relationship between the women"s views about the services, recidivism and characteristics of services. The results are generally consistent with earlier research.They favour services which are delivered by workers who are reliable, holistic, collaborative, understand the women"s perspective and focus on strengths. They do not support services which challenge the women, focus on their offences or things they do badly.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

The Effectiveness of Support and Rehabilitation Services for Women Offenders

Trotter

McIvor

Sheehan

2012

Australian Social Work

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“…Many women discussed feelings of anger with family members or partners and recognized, often for the first time in their lives, the high level of dysfunction within their families. As seen in previous qualitative research on service development for incarcerated women (Hedderman, Gunby, & Shelton, 2011), women qualitatively express changes that quantitative measures might not have fully captured. In addition, we believe the one measure of anger (i.e., Buss Warren Hostility) was inadequate to measure the potential changes in the type of anger that might be targeted by this intervention.…”

Section: Table 4 Group Difference Between Women With and Without A Dumentioning

confidence: 86%

Assessing Short-Term Outcomes of an Intervention for Women Convicted of Violent Crimes

Kubiak

Kim

Fedock

et al. 2012

Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research

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Women convicted of violent offenses represent a small but important subpopulation of women involved in the criminal justice system. Correctional administrators working with these women often rely on treatment and rehabilitation programs developed for violent male offenders. Although women's trajectories into violent behavior-as well as their trajectory out-differ from their male counterparts, the field is marked by the absence of interventions designed specifically for women with violent offenses. As attention grows in the research literature and in community settings about "women who use force" it is important to develop interventions that effectively modify aggressive behavior as well as the underlying precursors of such aggression. This paper describes a pilot study as one step in a developmental approach to intervention research. Beyond Violence, a gender specific and trauma-informed intervention, was piloted with 35 women incarcerated in a state prison with a conviction for a felony-level assault. Short-term outcomes assessed through changes in pre-and posttest measures show reductions in mental health symptoms associated with depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and serious mental illness. The encouraging results of this pilot study have led to the next step in the intervention research process of testing the program in a randomized controlled trial that is currently underway.

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“…As noted above, there remains a relative lack of detailed understanding about the specific needs of women in contact with the criminal justice system (Hedderman et al, 2011). Indeed, Palmer et al, (2010) suggest there is a need for robust qualitative data to add depth of understanding to much of the existing quantitative data reported in the literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Counterintuitive findings from a qualitative study of mental health in English women’s prisons

Caulfield

2016

IJPH

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Purpose Large numbers of women in prison report significant emotional and mental health problems, and there is evidence to suggest that the prison environment may exacerbate the incidence and severity of these issues (Armour, 2012). However, there has been limited exploration of the extent to which women’s mental health problems exist prior to incarceration, whether symptoms first occur in incarceration, and how incarceration affects this. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach In-depth interviews were conducted with 43 women incarcerated in three English prisons and a thematic analysis of the data was conducted. Review of official prison records provided a form of data triangulation. Findings Analysis of the data revealed that while many women who experienced mental health issues in prison had experienced these issues in the past, a number of women reported first experiencing mental health and emotional problems only after entering prison. Although these problems often recede, this demonstrates the significant impact that entering prison can have upon the mental health of women. Unusually, the data highlighted many positive experiences of support within prison. However, there was some lack of consistency in the treatment and support offered to women. Originality/value The data presented here are in many ways more positive than previous research and – as opposed to much of the existing literature that simply states the prevalence women’s issues in prison – provides insight into the lived experiences of women in prison. This paper documents how prison can present an opportunity for women to engage with treatment, but there is a need for a clearer understanding of women’s needs and consistent and appropriate support.

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What women want: The importance of qualitative approaches in evaluating work with women offenders

Cited by 37 publications

References 13 publications

The Effectiveness of Support and Rehabilitation Services for Women Offenders

The Effectiveness of Support and Rehabilitation Services for Women Offenders

Assessing Short-Term Outcomes of an Intervention for Women Convicted of Violent Crimes

Counterintuitive findings from a qualitative study of mental health in English women’s prisons

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