Boston Reentry Study, Massachusetts, 2012-2014 (ICPSR 39307)
Version Date: Mar 31, 2025 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Bruce Western, Columbia University;
Anthony A. Braga, University of Pennsylvania;
Rhiana Kohl, Massachusetts Department of Corrections
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39307.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
The Boston Reentry Study (BRS) was a mixed-methods, longitudinal study of 122 men and women released from Massachusetts state prisons to the Boston area, that focused on the transition into the community during participants' first year after prison release. The original data collection combined a panel survey, qualitative interviews, interviews with family members, and administrative records on criminal history. The BRS examined the complexity of integration after incarceration drawing from participants' life histories, including childhood experiences, to understand how individual biographies shape the transition into the community. This collection includes responses to 5 survey waves: (1) baseline, about one week before release from prison, (2) 1 week after prison release, (3) 2 months after prison release, (4) 6 months after prison release, and (5) 12 months after prison release. The survey collected information on housing, employment, income, health, family relationships, and criminal justice system contact.
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Funding View help for Funding
Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)
Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
- For additional information on the Boston Reentry Study (BRS), please visit the BRS study webpage.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
This study aimed to provide a detailed picture of housing, employment, health, family history, and criminal involvement of people returning to their communities from prison.
Study Design View help for Study Design
The Boston Reentry Study (BRS) data collection period for core interviews began in April 2012 and lasted until December 2014. The initial baseline interview was scheduled about one week before release and took place in-person at the prison. Researcher staff were notified when respondents were released from Department of Corrections custody and called respondents using the contact information they were provided at baseline. If no contact information was provided, respondents called the research team upon their release or were located by the team at residential or transitional housing programs. Post-release interviews were held in the community, or in a prison or jail facility if the respondent was back in custody. A variety of measures were taken to maximize study retention, including the use of phone check-ins with respondents between interviews, interview incentives, and maintaining contact with respondents' families. All eligible respondents participated in at least one follow-up interview after prison release.
The BRS survey instruments asked a series of questions on experiences during the transitional period in the year after prison release. Core survey items were asked across most, if not all, interview waves. Some waves included topic modules to obtain more detailed information about the process of transition out of prison.
Sample View help for Sample
The core sample of the Boston Reentry Study consists of 122 Massachusetts state prison inmates who were recruited between April 2012 and February 2013. Study eligibility required that inmates (a) were within one month of their scheduled prison release, and (b) provided a post-release address in the Boston area. Respondents were recruited from 15 of the 18 Massachusetts Department of Corrections state prisons. By recruiting from the range of security levels, the respondents varied widely on length of prison stay, criminal histories, offense severity, and age groups.
Time Method View help for Time Method
Universe View help for Universe
Adults newly released from Massachusetts state prisons and returning to the Boston area between May 2012 and February 2013.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
- Background (baseline interview)
- Prison experiences (baseline interview)
- Financial support (core questions for all surveys)
- Housing (core questions for all surveys)
- Family (core questions for all surveys, 2-month topical module)
- Substance use (core questions for all surveys)
- Health and health care (core questions for all surveys)
- General satisfaction and concerns (core questions for post-release surveys)
- Supervision (core questions for post-release surveys)
- Peer networks (core questions for post-release surveys)
- Personal relationships (core questions for 2-month through 12-month surveys)
- Criminal justice contact (core questions for 6-month through 12-month surveys)
- Program participation (core questions for 6-month through 12-month surveys)
- Attitudes to police and institutions (12-month module)
- Childhood experiences (12-month module)
- Violence and victimization (12-month module)
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
Through the one-year follow-up period, the study achieved a response rate of 94.4 percent, completing 576 of the 610 scheduled interviews over the 5 survey waves.
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
Several Likert-type scales were used.
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2025-03-31
Version History View help for Version History
2025-03-31 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.