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The Impact of Criminal Justice Involvement on the Health and Wellness of Individuals and Families

A special issue of Societies (ISSN 2075-4698).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 2600

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, Baylor University, Houston, TX 77479, USA
Interests: the intersection of health disparities; criminal justice; child and family well-being; particularly interested in the wellness of justice-involved women and the developmental outcomes of their children

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Guest Editor
Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
Interests: police attitudes and behavior; public assessments of legal authorities; crime and justice in Asian societies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Criminal justice involvement has become an increasingly common life event in modern societies and can profoundly impact the health and overall wellness of individuals and families. Criminal justice involvement can occur in many forms, such as police stops, parole and probation, jail and prison imprisonment, and juvenile justice engagement. Due to the stigma and stress related to criminal justice involvement, there is a pressing need for additional research to gain an in-depth understanding of its direct and collateral consequences on individuals and families. Growing knowledge in this field will empower us to incorporate criminal justice involvement-related experiences into studying health and wellness disparities and inform intervention and policy development. We invite you to submit manuscripts focusing on criminal justice involvement and the well-being of individuals and families and addressing the implications for practices and policies. We enthusiastically invite various forms of research from different countries and conducted on diverse populations and welcome submissions employing qualitative and quantitative approaches, mixed methods, and systematic/scoping reviews. By encompassing diverse methods, we seek to gather comprehensive perspectives on this important area of study.

In this Special Issue, contributions must be one of the following three categories of papers: articles, conceptual papers, or reviews; in addition, they must address the topic of the Special Issue.

Dr. Qianwei Zhao
Prof. Dr. Ivan Y. Sun
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • criminal justice involvement
  • individuals and families
  • health
  • wellness
  • intervention
  • policy

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 485 KiB  
Article
Incarceration and Addiction: Women’s Lived Experiences of Deprivation
by Chiao-Yu Yang
Societies 2024, 14(12), 250; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc14120250 - 25 Nov 2024
Viewed by 310
Abstract
Aims: This research examined the incarceration experiences of adult women with histories of drug addiction, aiming to fill knowledge gaps regarding how these women subjectively interpret their incarceration experiences. Methodology: In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 formerly incarcerated women from the Northeast and [...] Read more.
Aims: This research examined the incarceration experiences of adult women with histories of drug addiction, aiming to fill knowledge gaps regarding how these women subjectively interpret their incarceration experiences. Methodology: In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 formerly incarcerated women from the Northeast and Midwest United States. A phenomenological approach was used to explore the meaning of incarceration for the participants, with the deprivation model of imprisonment guiding the analysis. Findings: Women with drug addiction reported being treated differently while incarcerated because of their addiction. They experienced a lack of physical and psychosocial security, limited autonomy in health-related decisions, and diminished freedom to act and express themselves, often as a result of their mental health and drug addiction issues. Additionally, they experienced a loss of identity, stigma, and internalized stigma due to the way they were treated in prison. Conclusions: Incarceration is a critical life event that deprives women of many basic human needs, shaping their health, self-perception, and understanding of the criminal justice system. Further research is necessary to explore how the experience of incarceration impacts women’s mental health, drug addiction recovery, and overall well-being. Full article
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15 pages, 7922 KiB  
Article
Addressing Urban Management Challenges for Sustainable Development: Analyzing the Impact of Neighborhood Deprivation on Crime Distribution in Chicago
by Omid Mansourihanis, Mohammad Javad Maghsoodi Tilaki, Shiva Sheikhfarshi, Fatemeh Mohseni and Ebrahim Seyedebrahimi
Societies 2024, 14(8), 139; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc14080139 - 1 Aug 2024
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1731
Abstract
Urban crime prevention remains a critical challenge intertwined with socioeconomic disparities. This study investigates the spatial nexus between urban deprivation and crime decline in Chicago from 2015 to 2022, addressing the question: How do changes in neighborhood deprivation relate to crime reduction patterns? [...] Read more.
Urban crime prevention remains a critical challenge intertwined with socioeconomic disparities. This study investigates the spatial nexus between urban deprivation and crime decline in Chicago from 2015 to 2022, addressing the question: How do changes in neighborhood deprivation relate to crime reduction patterns? Using comprehensive crime incident and census tract Area Deprivation Index (ADI) data, this study conducted exploratory spatial analysis, regression modeling, and local bivariate relationship analysis. The findings reveal persistent hotspots of concentrated deprivation on Chicago’s south and west sides, alongside a general citywide crime decline. However, the current research uncovered significant spatial heterogeneity in both deprivation patterns and crime reduction, challenging the achievement of equitable public safety outcomes. Surprisingly, while crime incidents in 2015 and 2022 significantly predicted crime change, ADI scores were not statistically significant predictors in our regression model. Local bivariate analysis exposed diverse relationships between ADI changes and crime rate changes across neighborhoods, with 72.2% of census tracts showing no statistically significant relationship. This underscores the complexity of urban crime dynamics and the importance of local context in understanding these patterns. Our research contributes a nuanced understanding of the intricate relationship between urban deprivation and crime patterns, providing valuable insights for policymakers, law enforcement agencies, and urban planners. These findings highlight the need for integrated, long-term strategies that address both crime prevention and socioeconomic disparities, ultimately fostering safer, more equitable urban environments and informing evidence-based interventions tailored to specific neighborhood contexts. Full article
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