Mass incarceration has become a significant public health issue in the U.S. over the past few decades. The U.S. has one of the highest incarceration rates, with roughly 1.8 million people in jails and prisons. Collegiate recovery programs (CRPs) are programs that help college students in recovery from Substance Use Disorders (SUD) and behavioral addictions. These programs can vary from school to school, but commonalities include mutual-aid meetings, student drop-in centers, and peer recovery supports. The purpose of this study is to examine and characterize differences between non-system-involved, system-involved (with no incarceration history), and formally incarcerated students on the outcomes of quality of life, GPA, hours worked per week, SUD symptoms, and alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms among students in CRPs.
This study consisted of 435 respondents from 51 CRPs. Data collection took place from Fall 2020 through Spring 2022. Demographics such as age, gender, current education level, and racial/ethnic identity were measured. Lifetime criminal legal involvement, academic/work outcomes, alcohol and substance use symptoms, recovery capital, and quality of life were also measured. Collegiate recovery students were compared on three levels of legal-system involvement. Non-system-involved (50.1%), system-involved (27.5%), and formerly incarcerated (22.4%). Age and gender were the only demographics that showed a significant difference among system levels.
The results of this study show that more hours among formerly incarcerated students could be associated with the economic consequences of their carceral involvement. Students with incarceration histories were found to have more severe SUDs and work more hours weekly, but recovery-related outcomes were not found to differ when accounting for age and gender. This means that students with incarceration histories with SUDs face many more disadvantages than students with SUDs without incarceration histories but have just as successful recovery rates when given the same treatment and prevention programs. Therefore, we should prioritize welcoming this marginalized student group to CRPs. This study helps guide researchers, administrations, and universities on the importance of identifying these students and helping provide services to aid in their success throughout higher education.
Takeaway: Students with incarceration histories were found to have more severe SUDs and work more hours weekly, but recovery-related outcomes were not found to differ when accounting for age and gender.