Jeff Mellow | John Jay College of Criminal Justice (original) (raw)
Papers by Jeff Mellow
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 2015
This article presents research on women's perceptions and experiences residing in... more This article presents research on women's perceptions and experiences residing in a female community correction facility. Qualitative interview data and field observations are used to examine resident relationships, perceptions of on-site group treatment, and benefits of receiving off-site treatment. Findings from this study indicate an overwhelming feeling of tension and lack of trust among residents, resulting in most women withdrawing from social interactions. Relationship dynamics also played a role in women's participation during on-site group treatment and desiring off-site treatment. This study supports the need to create, and sustain, therapeutic environments within community correction settings for women.
Criminal Justice Review, 2011
Each year 700,000 prisoners are released back into the community, and substance abuse poses an en... more Each year 700,000 prisoners are released back into the community, and substance abuse poses an enormous threat to their successful reentry. Using data from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, this study reports on drug use and treatment exposure, prevalence of unmet treatment needs, psychosocial risks, and barriers to treatment among recent and current parolees. Findings show that whereas substance problems are higher among parolees than the general public, the former are more likely to receive treatment for their problems. Substance-abusing parolees who did not receive treatment often experienced multiple psychosocial challenges. Lack of health care coverage, lack of transportation, and lack of readiness for change were identified as major treatment barriers. Policy implications are discussed.
Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law, & Society, 16(2), 1-28., 2015
This study tests Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) low self-control theory using secondary-data fr... more This study tests Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) low self-control theory using secondary-data from parolees who participated in an experimental intervention called the Step’n Out study (Friedmann et al., 2008). This study hypothesizes that parolees with low self-control will have increased odds of engaging in post-treatment substance use and recidivism outcomes at the 3- and 9-month follow-up periods. The relationship between self-control and the post-treatment outcomes will be analyzed using Independent Samples t-tests, logistic regression models, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Bivariate results indicate that parolees who had self-reported physically or verbally threatening someone at the follow-up periods had statistically significantly lower self-control means compared to parolees who did not self-report physically or verbally threatening behaviors (p < 0.05). The results from the logistic regression analysis reveal that parolees with low levels of self-control have statistically significant increased odds of engaging in physically or verbally threatening behavior compared to parolees who did not report those behaviors at the 3-month follow-up period (p < 0.05). Generally, using the exploratory multivariate analytical approach, low self-control theory was not found to be a strong theoretical predictor of substance use and recidivism outcomes for parolees in the study. We did find that parolees randomly assigned to the experimental intervention had decreased odds of engaging in threatening behaviors. However, we did not observe that the treatment intervention moderated the relationship between low self-control and post-treatment outcomes. The results from the Confirmatory Factor Analysis reveal that low self-control theory is a weak predictor of total deviance.
Journal of Criminal Justice, 2006
Research about incarceration has moved beyond studies of the individual prisoner to examine how i... more Research about incarceration has moved beyond studies of the individual prisoner to examine how incarceration impacts prisoners' families and neighborhoods. Much of the family-centered work highlights the potential benefits for the prisoner of maintaining ties to family during the incarceration period, and particularly after release. Less thoroughly considered is the potential benefits and costs to families of maintaining a relationship with an incarcerated individual. This article addresses this topic with a qualitative study of prisoners' families, as well as a review of census data in one high incarceration neighborhood. Research findings suggested that there were significant costs, both social and economic, to a prisoner's family if they desired to maintain the most basic level of connection with him. The study further suggested that families and prisoners were put in a position requiring constant negotiation of competing interests.
Each year, U.S. jails process an estimated 12 million admissions and releases. Substance addictio... more Each year, U.S. jails process an estimated 12 million admissions and releases. Substance addiction, job and housing instability, mental illness, and a host of health problems are part of the day-to-day realities for a significant share of this population. Given that more than 80 percent of inmates are incarcerated for less than one month, jails have little time or capacity to address these deep-rooted and often overlapping issues. Life After Lockup synthesizes key findings from the Jail Reentry Roundtable and examines opportunities on the jail-to-community continuum where reentry-focused interventions can make a difference. Available at https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bja/220095.pdf
Journal of correctional health care : the official journal of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, 2015
Despite the extensive resources expended on providing medical care to inmates, inmates' healt... more Despite the extensive resources expended on providing medical care to inmates, inmates' health perception is an understudied topic. The current study investigates inmates' perception of health status while incarcerated using a sample of 136 soon-to-be released prisoners. Prisoners with poor health perception prior to their current incarceration were most likely to perceive health improvement. Sociodemographic characteristics were generally not associated with the perceived health improvement during incarceration. Analysis results suggest correctional institutions may play a vital role in delivering much-needed medical care to a segment of the prisoner population, including determining how they feel about their health. It is important to explore the policies and practices to increase continuity of health care following release to maintain perceived health improvement.
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 2015
This article presents research on women&amp;#39;s perceptions and experiences residing in... more This article presents research on women&amp;#39;s perceptions and experiences residing in a female community correction facility. Qualitative interview data and field observations are used to examine resident relationships, perceptions of on-site group treatment, and benefits of receiving off-site treatment. Findings from this study indicate an overwhelming feeling of tension and lack of trust among residents, resulting in most women withdrawing from social interactions. Relationship dynamics also played a role in women&amp;#39;s participation during on-site group treatment and desiring off-site treatment. This study supports the need to create, and sustain, therapeutic environments within community correction settings for women.
Criminal Justice Review, 2011
Each year 700,000 prisoners are released back into the community, and substance abuse poses an en... more Each year 700,000 prisoners are released back into the community, and substance abuse poses an enormous threat to their successful reentry. Using data from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, this study reports on drug use and treatment exposure, prevalence of unmet treatment needs, psychosocial risks, and barriers to treatment among recent and current parolees. Findings show that whereas substance problems are higher among parolees than the general public, the former are more likely to receive treatment for their problems. Substance-abusing parolees who did not receive treatment often experienced multiple psychosocial challenges. Lack of health care coverage, lack of transportation, and lack of readiness for change were identified as major treatment barriers. Policy implications are discussed.
Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law, & Society, 16(2), 1-28., 2015
This study tests Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) low self-control theory using secondary-data fr... more This study tests Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) low self-control theory using secondary-data from parolees who participated in an experimental intervention called the Step’n Out study (Friedmann et al., 2008). This study hypothesizes that parolees with low self-control will have increased odds of engaging in post-treatment substance use and recidivism outcomes at the 3- and 9-month follow-up periods. The relationship between self-control and the post-treatment outcomes will be analyzed using Independent Samples t-tests, logistic regression models, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Bivariate results indicate that parolees who had self-reported physically or verbally threatening someone at the follow-up periods had statistically significantly lower self-control means compared to parolees who did not self-report physically or verbally threatening behaviors (p < 0.05). The results from the logistic regression analysis reveal that parolees with low levels of self-control have statistically significant increased odds of engaging in physically or verbally threatening behavior compared to parolees who did not report those behaviors at the 3-month follow-up period (p < 0.05). Generally, using the exploratory multivariate analytical approach, low self-control theory was not found to be a strong theoretical predictor of substance use and recidivism outcomes for parolees in the study. We did find that parolees randomly assigned to the experimental intervention had decreased odds of engaging in threatening behaviors. However, we did not observe that the treatment intervention moderated the relationship between low self-control and post-treatment outcomes. The results from the Confirmatory Factor Analysis reveal that low self-control theory is a weak predictor of total deviance.
Journal of Criminal Justice, 2006
Research about incarceration has moved beyond studies of the individual prisoner to examine how i... more Research about incarceration has moved beyond studies of the individual prisoner to examine how incarceration impacts prisoners' families and neighborhoods. Much of the family-centered work highlights the potential benefits for the prisoner of maintaining ties to family during the incarceration period, and particularly after release. Less thoroughly considered is the potential benefits and costs to families of maintaining a relationship with an incarcerated individual. This article addresses this topic with a qualitative study of prisoners' families, as well as a review of census data in one high incarceration neighborhood. Research findings suggested that there were significant costs, both social and economic, to a prisoner's family if they desired to maintain the most basic level of connection with him. The study further suggested that families and prisoners were put in a position requiring constant negotiation of competing interests.
Each year, U.S. jails process an estimated 12 million admissions and releases. Substance addictio... more Each year, U.S. jails process an estimated 12 million admissions and releases. Substance addiction, job and housing instability, mental illness, and a host of health problems are part of the day-to-day realities for a significant share of this population. Given that more than 80 percent of inmates are incarcerated for less than one month, jails have little time or capacity to address these deep-rooted and often overlapping issues. Life After Lockup synthesizes key findings from the Jail Reentry Roundtable and examines opportunities on the jail-to-community continuum where reentry-focused interventions can make a difference. Available at https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bja/220095.pdf
Journal of correctional health care : the official journal of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, 2015
Despite the extensive resources expended on providing medical care to inmates, inmates' healt... more Despite the extensive resources expended on providing medical care to inmates, inmates' health perception is an understudied topic. The current study investigates inmates' perception of health status while incarcerated using a sample of 136 soon-to-be released prisoners. Prisoners with poor health perception prior to their current incarceration were most likely to perceive health improvement. Sociodemographic characteristics were generally not associated with the perceived health improvement during incarceration. Analysis results suggest correctional institutions may play a vital role in delivering much-needed medical care to a segment of the prisoner population, including determining how they feel about their health. It is important to explore the policies and practices to increase continuity of health care following release to maintain perceived health improvement.