ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
This study was conducted to examine the relationship between social support and reintegration of parolees into the community. Respondents were 240 parolees who were released on Parole Order for not less than one month and who were employed. A set of questionnaires comprising of sociodemographic background, social support and reintegration of parolees into the community was administered. Data obtained were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 19.0. The findings show that social support has been significant and positively correlated with reintegration of parolees into the community (r=.78, p<.01). Of the four sub-dimensions of social support, parole officer’s support (r= .80, p< .05) was most significant, followed by peer support (r= .34, p< .01), family support (r= .30, p< .01), and finally employer support (r= .06, p< .01). Results indicated that social support received from parole officers, peers, family and employers were significantly and positively correlated with reintegration of parolees into the community.
Abadinsky, H. (2009). Probation and Parole: Theory and Practice, 10th Edition. Australia: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Adams, M., Roberson, C., Gray-Ray, P., & Ray, M. (2003). Labelling and Delinquency. Adolescence, 38(149), 171-186.
Ali, T., & Wan Shahrazad, W. S. (2012). Relationship between mother, father, and peer attachment and empathy with moral authority. Ethics & Behavior, 22(1), 16-29.
Bernberg, J. G., Krohn, M. D., & Rivera, C. J. (2006). Official labelling, criminal embeddedness and subsequent delinquency: a longitudinal test of labelling theory. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 43(1), 67-88.
Bloom, B., Owen, B., & Corington, S. (2004). Women offenders and the gendered effects of public policy. Review of Public Policy Research, 21(1), 31-48.
Borzycki, M. (2005). Interventions for Prisoners Returning to the Community. Australian Institute of Criminology: Canberra.
Bronfrenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Designs. USA: Harvard University Press.
Ceci, S. J. (2006). Urie Bronfrenbrenner. Am Psychol, 61(2), 173-4.
Caldwell, R., Silverman, J., Lefforge, N., & Silver, C. (2004). Adjudicated Mexican - American Adolescents: The Effects of Familial Emotional Support on Self-Esteem, Emotional Well-Being and Delinquency. American Journal of Family Therapy, 32(1), 55-69.
Clear, T. R., Reisig, M. D., & Cole, G. F. (2006). American Corrections (7th Edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Cobbina, J. E. (2010). Reintegration success and failure: factors impacting reintegration among incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 49(3), 210-232.
Cochran, J. C. (2014). Breaches in the wall: imprisonment, social support and recidivism. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 51(2), 200-229.
Davis, C., Bahr, S. J., & Ward, C. (2013). The process of offender reintegration: perceptions of what helps prisoners re-enter society. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 13(4), 446.
Fletcher, D. (2001). Ex-offenders, the labour market and the new public administration. Public Administration, 79(4), 871-891.
Formoso, D., Gonzales, N., & Aiken, L. (2000). Family Conflict and Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Protective Factors. American Journal of Community Psychology, 28(2), 175-199.
Fountaine, J., Gilchrist-Scott, D., Denver, M., & Rossman, S. B. (2012). Families and reentry: unpacking how social support matter. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Fauziah, I., Salina, N., Norulhuda, S., Khadijah, A., Mohd Suhaimi, M., Wan Shahrazad, W. S., & Ezarina, Z. (2016). Ciri-ciri keusahawanan dalam kalangan banduan parol: ke arah penyediaan modul kemahiran pengurusan keusahawanan di jabatan penjara Malaysia. Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 11(1), 91-105.
Faizah, M., Rozmi, I., Norizan, H. (2018). Peranan sokongan sosial terhadap kemurungan dalam kalangan remaja penagih dadah. Jurnal Psikologi Malaysia 32 (3),109-118.
Graffam, J., Shinkfield, A., Lavelle, B., & Hardcastle, L. (2004). Attitudes of employers, corrective service workers, employment support workers, and prisoners and offenders towards employing ex-prisoners and ex-offenders. Victoria: Criminology Research Council.
Graffam, J., Shinkfield, A., Lavelle, B., & Mcpherson, B. W. (2014). Variables affecting successful reintegration as perceived by offenders and professional. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 40(1-2), 147-171.
Hairston, C. F. (2002). “Prisoners and families: parenting issues during incarceration”. Paper presented in Urban Institute’s from Prison to Home Conference. Washington, D.C. 30-31 January.
Hay, C. (2001). Parenting, Self-Control and Delinquency: A Test of Self-Control Theory. Criminology, 39(3), 707-736.
Heinrich, S. (2000). Reducing recidivism through work: Barriers and opportunities for employment of ex-offenders. Great Cities Institute: University of Illinois.
Hirschi, T. (2009). Causes of Delinquency. New Brunswick, USA and London, UK: Transaction Publishers.
Ibu Pejabat Penjara Malaysia. (2015). Laporan Statistik Tahunan Jabatan Penjara Malaysia. Kajang: Selangor.
Janis, I. (1982). Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascoes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (2003). Shared beginning, divergent lives: Delinquent boys to age 70. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
La Vigne, N. G., Shollenberger, T. L., & Debus, S. A. (2009). One Year Out: Tracking the Experience of Male Prisoners Returning to Houston. Texas. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Leverentz, A. M. (2006). People, Places and Things: The Social Process of re-entry for Female Ex-offenders. USA: National Institute of Justice.
Lutze, F. E., Smith, R. P., & Lovrich, N. P. (2004). Influencing the contextual experiences of offenders being supervised in the community: A survey of offenders. Paper presented at the Western and Pacific Association of Criminal Justice Educators, San Diego, CA.
Mac Kenzie, D. L. (2000). Evidence-based corrections: identifying what works. Crime and Delinquency, 46(4), 457-471.
Maruna, S. (2001). Making Good: How Ex-prisoners Reform and Rebuild their Lifes. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Maruna, S., Immarigeon, R., & Lebel, T. P. (2004). Ex-offender reintegration: Theory and practice, In: Maruna, S. and Immarigeon, R. (Eds), After Crime and Punishment: Pathways to Offender Reintegration. Collumpton: Willan Publishing, 3-26.
Maruna, S. (2011). Re-entry as a rite of passage. Punishment and Society, 13(1), 3-28.
Melde, C., & Esbensen, F. A. (2012). Gangs and violence: Disentangling the impact of social support on adolescent depression and delinquency. Social Forces, 85(3), 1143-1167.
Naser, R. L., & La Vigne, N. G. (2006). F amily support in the prisoner re-entry process. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 43(1), 93-106.
Nally, J. M., Lockwood, S., & Knutson, K. (2014). Post-release recidivism and employment among different types of released offenders: A 5-year follow-up study in the United States. International Journal of Criminal Justice Science, 9(1), 16-34.
Norulhuda S., Fauziah, I., Ezarina Z., Jana, N. S., Nasrudin, S., Suzana M. H., Salina N., Suhaimi, M., Khadijah, A., & Chong, S. T. (2020). Beyond control adolescents coping towards dysfunctioning family: Integrating roles with family system theory. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24(4), 4379-4396.
Petersilia, J. (2003). When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prison Re-entry. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Procidano, M. E., & Heller, K. (1983). Measures of perceived social support from friends and from family in drug abuse prevention: Three studies. American Journal of Community Psychology. New York: Plenum Press.
Prison Act. (1995). Laws of Malaysia (Act 537). Retrieved February, 30, 2020, from http://www.agc.gov.my/agcportal/uploads/files/Publications/LOM/EN/Act%20537 .pdf
Richie, B. E. (2001). Challenges incarcerated women face as they return to their communities: Findings from life history interviews. Crime and Delinquency, 47(3), 368-389.
Seiter, R. P. (2002). Prisoner Re-entry and the Role of Parole Officers. Federal Probation, 66(3), 50-54.
Shinkfield, A. J., & Graffam, J. (2007). Community reintegration of ex-prisoners: Type and degree of change in variables influencing successful reintegration. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 53(1), 29-42.
Siegel, D. A. (2009). Social networks and collective actions. American Journal of Political Science, 53(1), 122-138.
Shankar, D., Ayu, G. M. S., & Rahim, M. K. (2019). Exploring demography and sociological factors underlying decisions to join gangs among Indians. Akademika 89(1), 33-43.
Solomon, A., Gouvis, C., & Waul, M. (2001). Summary of focus group with ex-prisoners in the district: Ingredient for Successful Reintegration. Washington DC: Urban Institute.
Taylor, C., & Becker, P. (2015). Are your friends crucial or trivial? peer support’s effect on recidivism. Justice Policy Journal, 12(1), 1-20.
Tharshini, N. K., Fauziah, I., Suhaimi, M., & Ezarina, Z. (2018). Tahap konsep kendiri, kesedaran komuniti, sokongan sosial dan pengintegrasian sosial bagi pesalah muda di Malaysia. Akademika, 88(3), 91-100.
Uggen, C. (2000). Work as a Turning Point in the Life Course of Criminals: A Duration Model of Age, Employment and Recidivism. American Sociological Review, 65(4), 529-546.
Uggen, C., Wakefield, S., & Western, B. (2005). Work and Family Perspectives on re-entry. In Travis, J., and Visher, C.A. (Eds.), Prisoner re-entry and crime in America. New York: Cambridge University Press, (pp. 209-243).
Visher, C. A., & Travis, J. (2003). Transitions from prison to community: understanding individuals pathways. Annual Review of Sociology, 29(1), 89-113.
Visher, C. A., La Vigne, N. G., & Travis, J. (2004). Returning home: understanding the challenges of prisoner re-entry. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Visher, C. A., & Courtney, S., M. (2006). Cleveland Prisoners Experiences Returning Home. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Visher, C. A., & Courtney, S., M. (2007). One year out: Experiences of prisoners to cleveland. Retrieved February, 30, 2020, from https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/ Publications/abstract.aspx? ID=244634
Visher, C., Debus-Sherrill, S., & Yahner, J. (2008). Employment after prison: A longitudinal study of releasees in three states. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Warner-Robbins, C., & Parsons, M. L. (2010). Developing peer leaders and reducing recidivism through long-term participation in faith-based program: The Story of Welcome Home Ministries. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 28(3), 293-305.
Wester, R., Hedderman, C., Turnbull, P., & May, T. (2001). Building bridges to employment for prisoners. London: The Communication and Development Unit, Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate.
Shahrazad W. S., Fauziah I., Suhaimi, M., Salina, N., Norulhuda S., & Khadijah A. (2016). Rehabilitation Through Parole System in Malaysia: The Role of Optimism as Mediating Variable in The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Resilience. Jurnal Psikologi Malaysia, 30(2), 141-152.
Yvon, D., Jeff, C., Danielle, M., Robert, E. B., Vivienne, C. (2008). Conditional Release Violations, Suspensions and Revocations: A Comparative Analysis. East Mall: Canada.
Zaiton, H., & Rafizah, A., H. (2012). The roles and challenges of parole officers in reintegrating prisoners into the community under the parole system. Social and Behavioural Sciences, 36(2012), 324-332.
In-Text Citation: (Sathoo et al., 2021)
To Cite this Article: Sathoo, K. D., Ibrahim, F., Sulaiman, W. S. W., & Mohamad, M. S. (2021). Social Support for Optimal Reintegration of Malaysian Parolees into Community. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(3), 431-443.
Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode