Moving Beyond Failure: Modeling the Multidimensional Conceptualization of Success After Prison

Abstract A recent National Academy of Sciences report emphasizes myriad shortcomings of traditional indicators of success after prison. A key criticism concerns the reliance on a binary measure of recidivism, which imposes a static conceptualization of behavioral change and ignores positive growth in other life domains. Using an indicator of “failure” (i.e., recidivism) as the metric of “success” is not only inconsistent with the realities of desisting from offending, which involves a gradual process of moving away from crime, but it also ignores evidence of incremental successes in other dimensions of the life course. Research has been empirically hindered in accounting for co-occurring processes involving transitioning away from criminal and into conventional pursuits. In this study, we leverage an innovative analytic strategy, group-based multiple trajectory modeling, to measure (1) the complexity involved in the process of reintegration and (2) the interrelationships between multiple life course domains when determining success. Using the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative ( SVORI ), we ask “What does post-release success across several life course domains look like in this sample?” And “Is there an overlap across metrics of success and failure?” We discuss how the patterns we observe relate to typical metrics of recidivism and offending trajectories. Findings provide timely evidence on the nuanced nature of reintegration, informing desistance theory and reintegration practice and policy.