Factors associated with successful reintegration for male offenders: a systematic narrative review with implicit causal model

Abstract

Objectives: This systematic review explored factors associated with successful reintegration into the community for male offenders and investigated which factors may be causally related to reintegration. Methods: Database searches were conducted in November 2021; a narrative synthesis and associated causal model with directed acyclic graph (DAG) was used to analyse the factors of reintegration. Results: Thirty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. Risk-Need-Responsivity–based interventions had the strongest evidence for reducing post-release offending. Fourteen good-quality studies met the inclusion criteria. The DAG shows six exposure variables (prison visits, witnessing victimisation, recovery perception, risk assessment, in-prison treatment, and pre-prison health) which link to several post-release outcomes (criminal justice outcomes, drug use, mental health, housing, and reintegration barriers) and confounding variables (demographics, offending history, prior reintegration barriers, substance misuse and attitudes). Conclusions: The review identified factors that may be causally related to reintegration for male offenders and warrant further empirical investigation.