Women in Prisons

Women in Prisons
Author’s Name
Institution
Abstract
The following is an annotated bibliography of six articles related to women and correctional facilities. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research methods will be used where each category has two articles. In quantitative research, statistical methods of data analysis are applied whereas in qualitative research non-statistical approaches of data analysis are applied. In a mixed methods research, both qualitative and quantitative measures are applied. One of the articles used aims at showing the efficiency of Community Relapse Prevention and Maintenance when it comes to reconviction reduction. The second article used aims at establishing the nature of violent crimes women commit and what contributes to them engaging in such acts. The third article tries to ascertain what will make an offender perceive a prison as being safe than their previous environment. The fourth article shows why prisoners will engage in self-injurious behaviors. The fifth article focuses on indicating how to reduce suicide rates in correctional facilities. The last article aims at showing how therapy can be used in reconviction reduction of sexual offenders.

Introduction
The following is an annotated bibliography discussing offenders, especially those in female correctional facilities. The articles used are scholarly since they have been used by other researchers in their studies. The articles have different topics ranging from substance abuse to sexual offenders.

Further, the researchers employ unique study designs depending on the nature of their research question.
Quantitative article one: A Correlational Design
Matheson, F. I., Doherty, S., & Grant, B. A. (2011). Community-Based Aftercare and Return to Custody in a National Sample of Substance-Abusing Women Offenders. American Journal of Public Health, 101(6), 1126–1132. http://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2010.300094
Summary
This article aims at establishing whether Community Relapse Prevention and Maintenance (CRPM) programs are effective when handling women offenders with substance abuse problems. The study was conducted in Canada and aimed at establishing whether exposure or no exposure to CRPM contributed to women offenders returning to correctional facilities. The study results indicated that women that had not been exposed to CRPM were ten times more likely to return to prison than those exposed to CRPM. The researchers concluded that aftercare is a crucial aspect of a woman’s support system after leaving a correctional facility.
Analysis
The study was a quantitative one because it made use of statistical methods to collect and analyze the research findings. The study had 361 female participants released from one of the six federal prisons in Canada. Further, this was a correlational study since it aimed at establishing the relationship found in substance abuse, aftercare, and going back to prison. The participants were also categorized as those exposed or not exposed to CRPM. The strength of this method is that the study population in Canada is a representative of any other study group that might be used from any part of the world. Further, the findings are easily interpreted according to the study design. However, this study design has a limitation when it comes to the sample size.
Application
I intend to use this study to show how aftercare can help reduce the recidivism in women hence going back to prison. Further, this study will enable me to establish what causes women to go back to prison.
Quantitative article two: A Survey Research
Willison, J. S. (2016). Characteristics of violent crime committed by female prisoners. Violence and Victims, 31(3), 552-570. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-14-00027
Summary
This study aims at establishing the nature of violent crimes that women commit hence causing them to be incarcerated. A total of 866 participants were selected from state prisons to be used in the study. The study established that most crimes originated from a domestic setting and weapons were less likely to be used unless when defending oneself.
Analysis
This study is a quantitative one because it selects a sample from a larger population so that it can establish the offenders that have committed a violent crime. It is a survey research because it applies several criteria to select the study participants. A strength of this study design is that it selects a large study population and narrows it down using the survey factors. The only limitation of this study design is that it does not consider juveniles since the study participants are aged eighteen years and over.
Application
I intend to use this study to point out the violent crimes that might cause women to get locked down. Further, this study will guide me in establishing the ways that can be used to prevent women from engaging in violent crime.
Qualitative article one: The Interview Analysis
Bradley, R. G., & Davino, K. M. (2002). Women’s perceptions of the prison environment: When the prison is “the safest place I’ve ever been”. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 351-359. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1111/1471-6402.t01-2-00074
Summary
This study aimed at establishing the how safe women in prisons feel as compared to before being locked down. The study participants were to express their perceived level of safety with a comparison to their past experiences. A total of sixty-five women with mental or physical challenges incarcerated in medium-security correctional institutions were used. Forty of the respondents were African-American while twenty-five were White. Some of the women indicated that prisons are safer as compared to their previous environments. The researchers concluded that the perceived level of safety was reliant on an individual’s past experiences.
Analysis
This is a qualitative study since the participants were expected to give their perceived level of safety. The study was an interview analysis since the respondents were expected to give personal accounts. The strength of this method is that the researchers and respondents interact directly. The weakness of this study design is that it was prejudiced since it used respondents that are either mentally or physically challenged.
Application
I intend to apply this study to show how previous exposure to violence, poverty, and chaos determines how offenders perceive their safety in correctional facilities.
Qualitative article two: A Case Study
Smith, H. (2016). Self-injurious behavior in prison: A case study. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 60(2), 228-243. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1177/0306624X14552063
Summary
A self-injurious behavior (SIBs) in correctional facilities affects both the victims and correctional officers. Further, SIBs contributes to resource wastage. The prevalence of SIBs in correctional facilities located in the United States is at about 2.4%. This study applies a case study design and the respondents used have recidivistic behavior that is known to mental health personnel. The study indicates that past experiences contribute to SIBs. Further, the study pinpoints out those inmates that have three or more documented SIBs are likely to be segregated.
Analysis
This is a qualitative study since it relies on experiences that cannot be quantified. Further, the study applies a case study. The strength of this method is that the researchers do not have to incur the costs of collecting primary data since they use a case study. The limitation of this approach is that does not apply any statistical generalization that represents other populations.
Application
I intend to use this study to show the reasons as to why women in prison may engage in SIBs.
Mixed Methods article one: Triangulation
Slade, K., & Forrester, A. (2015). Shifting the paradigm of prison suicide prevention through enhanced multi-agency integration and cultural change. Journal Of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 26(6), 737-758. doi:10.1080/14789949.2015.1062997
Summary
This study aims at establishing the reasons for reduced suicidal rates in a London prison. Studies show that suicide contributes to the most frequent cause of death in incarceration facilities. This study shows that improving the climate and culture promotes safety in the prison hence reducing suicide. Another factor that contributes to reduced suicide rate is the application of effective communication in correctional facilities. Another contributor to reduced suicide rates is healthcare wing partnership when it comes to handling prisoners having mental challenges.
Analysis
This study uses mixed methods of study design since it employs questionnaires and triangulation. The strength of this method is that several styles of data collection and analysis are applied. However, this design has a limitation which is evaluation difficulties.
Application
I intend to use this study to show the methods that can be used to reduce instances of suicide in women prisons.
Mixed Methods article two: Convergent Mixed-Methods Design
Blagden, N., Winder, B., & Hames, C. (2016). “They treat us like human beings”—Experiencing a therapeutic sex offenders prison: Impact on prisoners and staff and implications for treatment. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 60(4), 371-396. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1177/0306624X14553227
Summary
This study aims to show how sex offender treatment programs (SOTPs) help in reducing the reconviction of sex offenders. This research used 112 prisoners and 48 staff from a therapeutically oriented sexual offender’s correctional facility. The research established SOTPs facilitate rehabilitation hence reducing the likelihood of reconviction of a sexual offender.
Analysis
The study design is a mixed-method since it aims at understanding the prison environment of a sexual lawbreaker from the perspective of both the staff and offender. The strength of this method is that it shows both the feelings of the offender and correctional facility personnel. A weakness of this method is it does not allow the researchers to look into different rehabilitative climates.
Application
I intend to use this study to show how therapy in correctional facilities can be used to prevent reconviction.
Conclusion
As seen from the above articles, there are numerous research designs that can be used when carrying out research. Additionally, there are many crimes and reasons why offenders will break the law. The reasons could be psychological or environmental. Further, there are diverse ways of addressing each challenge that causes women to get incarcerated. In finality, the annotated bibliography indicates that a unique study design can be used to address a unique research question when it comes to matters pertaining women in prisons.

References
Blagden, N., Winder, B., & Hames, C. (2016). “They treat us like human beings”—Experiencing a therapeutic sex offenders prison: Impact on prisoners and staff and implications for treatment. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 60(4), 371-396. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1177/0306624X14553227
Bradley, R. G., & Davino, K. M. (2002). Women’s perceptions of the prison environment: When prison is “the safest place I’ve ever been”. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 351-359. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1111/1471-6402.t01-2-00074
Matheson, F. I., Doherty, S., & Grant, B. A. (2011). Community-Based Aftercare and Return to Custody in a National Sample of Substance-Abusing Women Offenders. American Journal of Public Health, 101(6), 1126–1132. http://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2010.300094
Slade, K., & Forrester, A. (2015). Shifting the paradigm of prison suicide prevention through enhanced multi-agency integration and cultural change. Journal Of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 26(6), 737-758. doi:10.1080/14789949.2015.1062997
Smith, H. (2016). Self-injurious behavior in prison: A case study. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 60(2), 228-243. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1177/0306624X14552063
Willison, J. S. (2016). Characteristics of violent crime committed by female prisoners. Violence and Victims, 31(3), 552-570. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-14-00027