Date Presented 03/28/20
Incarcerated women face challenges to community re-entry and employment, including unemployment and low wages. We explored vocational interests with women (N = 114) at a midwest US prison. Career aspirations were explored through self-reported employment history and interests, O*NET survey, and Holland codes. Findings inform the development of OT interventions and prison programming to improve postrelease employment among incarcerated women.
Primary Author and Speaker: Selena Washington
Additional Authors and Speakers: Lisa Jaegers
BACKGROUND: Over the past forty years, the number of women incarcerated has grown by over 700% (from 26,000 to 214,000) (1). Women with a record of incarceration face challenges to community reentry and employment including under- and unemployment, working less hours, and making lower wages as compared to their male counterparts (2). Furthermore, they are often employed in temporary, entry- or low-level jobs with limited opportunity for advancement (2). There is a strong association between vocation and recidivism, repeated offenses leading to incarceration (3). Vocational satisfaction can significantly contribute to an individual’s chances of being a self-sufficient and law abiding citizen after incarceration (3, 4). As the rate of women incarcerated continues to grow (1), identifying their vocational interests may assist with the development of person-centered vocational skills and meaningful societal roles for community reentry. The purpose of this study was to analyze self-reported vocational aspirations and employment interests among women incarcerated at a medium-security prison.
METHODS: This study used a cross-sectional design with a purposive sample at one Midwest, US correctional facility. This study was approved by the Saint Louis University Institutional Review Board and all participants were informed about the study prior to giving informed consent. Women incarcerated between 31-135 days of residency within the correctional facility were recruited into the study. Self-administered surveys (78 items) were completed via iPads. Data was gathered by mixed, qualitative and quantitative survey items. Previous employment and future career interests were reported through open-ended prompts. The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) Interest Profiler was used to assess future career goals matched to individual personality traits. The Holland Occupational RIASEC model provided vocational code/type. (e.g. realistic, investigative, enterprising, conventional, social, artistic). Data was summarized using descriptive statistics, and a rank order analysis for significance and prevalence of Holland code categories. Open-ended items were coded and analyzed using thematic analysis by independent raters and a consensus process.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The majority of respondents (N=114) were between 25-34 years of age (41.2%), predominantly of Caucasian ethnicity (89%), and 90% had at least one child (average 2.5). The most common previous employment was food service worker (35%) and the most reported future career goal (O*NET) was health care related (26%). The predominate Holland code career aspiration was Enterprising (e.g. competitive, a leader, persuading, administering over). These results indicate a potential mismatch between women’s perceived career aspirations and interests, whereby service delivery jobs were identified, but personality codes indicate more enterprising careers. The implications of these findings suggest women incarcerated may benefit from education about careers and exploration of careers that better match their interests. Occupational therapy interventions have the potential to facilitate career matching and vocational training through an occupation-focused perspective.
CONCLUSION: Occupational Information Network (O*NET) Interest Profiler and Holland categories, have the potential to inform pre-release, justice-based occupational therapy assessment and interventions that are person-centered for women experiencing incarceration.
References
Carson, E. A. (2018). Prisoners in 2016. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=6187
Flower, S. M. (2010). Gender-Responsive Strategies for Women Offenders: Employment and Female Offenders: An Update of the Empirical Research. NIC Accession Number 024662. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from https://nicic.gov/employment-and-female-offenders-update-empirical-research
Esperian, J. H. (2010). The effect of prison education programs on recidivism. Journal of Correctional Education, 61(4), 316–334.
4. Meyer, J. M., & Shippen, M. E. (2016). The career thoughts inventory and incarcerated males: A preliminary psychometric review. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(2), 340-358.
