How the prison-to-community transition risk environment influences the experience of men with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder
Previous research has established that people with severe mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorder leaving prison have multiple and complex health, social and economic challenges. How the criminal justice and mental health systems influence the individual prison-to-community transition...
| Authors: | ; ; | 
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| Format: | Electronic Article | 
| Language: | English | 
| Published: | 
          
        2017
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| In: | 
      The Australian and New Zealand journal of criminology          
     Year: 2017, Volume: 50, Issue: 1, Pages: 39-55  | 
| Online Access: | 
                  Volltext (Resolving-System)                 | 
| Journals Online & Print: | |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway | 
| Keywords: | 
| Summary: | Previous research has established that people with severe mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorder leaving prison have multiple and complex health, social and economic challenges. How the criminal justice and mental health systems influence the individual prison-to-community transition experience of this population is less well understood. This paper draws on unique qualitative data from a study of 18 men with co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorder leaving prison in Queensland, Australia. A repeat in-depth interview method was used to explore the experiences of the men in prison just prior to release and at two points post-release. Two themes are discussed from analysis of interviews: “risk behaviour and relapse” and “once a criminal always a risk”. The findings suggest that individual risk behaviour is structured within a transition risk environment that reduces individual agency, thus facilitating a vicious cycle of release, relapse and reincarceration. | 
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| ISSN: | 1837-9273 | 
| DOI: | 10.1177/0004865815620703 | 
