Lifestyle Choices That Help Prevent Women from Reincarceration

There is immense research about recidivism rates in different populations such as African Americans, men, and other population groups. During our preliminary research and literature reviews, we saw a need for more research about recidivism rates in women. This research proposal hopes to examine the different lifestyle choices that would be most conducive to helping women stay out of prison after being released. Fifty women will undergo individual, in-depth interviews through a fixed purposive sample panel that will be confidential and anonymous. These fifty women will be found by posting flyers at social service agencies, prisons, AA meetings, NA meetings, and other places deemed appropriate in the state of Ohio. Interviews will include questions concerning lifestyle factors from their past, present, and future. The semi-structured interviews will provide a more in-depth look into personal stories. Overall, this research proposal hopes to find the different factors that participants might have in common that can help researchers better understand how past, present, and future life circumstances impact recidivism rates. We expect to find that healthier lifestyle choices will decrease recidivism rates for women. This research proposal is an exploratory study and calls for more research and data from other researchers