Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Human Services

Advisor

Shari Jorissen

Abstract

AbstractRecidivism is a substantial problem in the United States due to the number of paroles/probationers reoffending. The U.S. prison system has become the new asylum and a revolving door for individuals, which is even more true for those with substance use disorders (SUDs). Once these individuals leave prison, they are likely to end up reoffending at some point in the future due to substance use/abuse (i.e., committing crimes to support substance use, selling substances, etc.). Scholarly literature lacked studies examining the predictors of recidivism for offenders with SUD in North Carolina. . The purpose of this quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional study was to examine the predictive relationship between demographic factors (i.e., age at initial offense, gender, ethnicity, educational attainment level, and employment history), substance use status (i.e., type, severity, and duration), and reoffending status with 3 years of release in North Carolina. Social learning theory was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The North Carolina Public Safety Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice provided the secondary data of 5,903 cases in the final data set. Multiple logistic regression indicated statistically significant results related to age at initial offense (p = .000), ethnicity (p = .000), education attainment level (p = .003), and employment history (p = .007), and reoffending status within 3 years. The findings of this study may offer some insights to correctional officers who serve as community supervisors and be used by leaders and practitioners to help recommend treatment, interventions, and strategies to decrease recidivism for this population.

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