Factors that support successful transition to the community among women leaving prison in British Columbia: a prospective cohort study using participatory action research

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Figure 1
Flow diagram showing selection of study participants.
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Figure 2
Variables associated on univariate analyses with recidivism in the 3 months before each interview. Note: OR = odds ratio, CI = confidence interval.

Table 1: Characteristics of participants according to retention for follow-up

Characteristic	No. (%) of women*		p value
Characteristic	Participants n = 207	Lost to follow-up/incarcerated n = 193	p value
Age, mean ± SD, yr	34.2 ± 9.0	33.2 ± 9.5	0.3
Indigenous status	109 (52.6)	67 (34.7)	< 0.001
Marital status			0.4
Single	132 (63.8)	118 (61.1)
Married/common-law	39 (18.8)	24 (12.4)
Girlfriend/boyfriend	21 (10.1)	31 (16.1)
Separated/divorced	11 (5.3)	6 (3.1)
Widowed	3 (1.4)	3 (1.6)
Missing	1 (0.5)	11 (5.7)
Has children	152 (73.4)	127 (65.8)	0.1
First language English	191(92.3)	175 (90.7)	0.7
Education			0.8
< High school	101 (48.8)	84 (43.5)
High school	66 (31.9)	67 (34.7)
Trade certificate/diploma	6 (2.9)	8 (4.1)
Some college/university	16 (7.7)	19 (9.8)
Completed college/university	6 (2.9)	5 (2.6)
Missing	12 (5.8)	10 (5.2)
Employed	19 (9.2)	11 (5.7)	0.2
Reason for incarceration†
Theft < $5000	65 (31.4)	51 (26.4)	0.6
Theft ≥ $5000	7 (3.4)	13 (6.7)	0.3
Assault	44 (21.2)	17 (8.8)	0.002
Breaking and entering	11 (5.3)	12 (6.2)	0.9
Drug-related offence	48 (23.2)	63 (32.6)	0.1
Driving-related offence	5 (2.4)	5 (2.6)	1.0
Breach of conditions	65 (31.4)	70 (36.3)	0.6
Injection drug use	75 (36.2)	55 (28.5)	0.7
Length of time in prison during previous incarceration, mean ± SD, d	81.6 ± 94.2	78.6 ± 84.5	0.7

Note: SD = standard deviation.

*Except where indicated otherwise.

†Participants could have more than 1 reason.

Table 2: Variables associated with committing a criminal act in the previous 3 months in univariate analysis

Variable	No. (%) of interviews*†		OR (95% CI)‡
Variable	Criminal act n = 168	No criminal act n = 202	OR (95% CI)‡
General health, median (IQR)§	3 (2-3) n = 138	3 (3-4) n = 171	0.47 (0.34-0.67)
Received treatment for hepatitis C in previous 3 mo	43 (25.6)	28 (13.9)	2.21 (1.21-4.01)
Had opportunity to learn about health in previous 3 mo	38 (22.6)	79 (39.1)	0.47 (0.29-0.75)
Nutritional health in previous 3 mo, median (IQR)§	3 (2-4) n = 164	3 (3-4) n = 197	0.52 (0.40-0.67)
Spiritual health in previous 3 mo, median (IQR)§	4 (2-4) n = 155	3 (3-5) n = 173	0.54 (0.43-0.68)
Has dentist	26 (15.5)	50 (24.8)	0.54 (0.31-0.92)
Used cannabis in previous 3 mo	102 (60.7)	97 (48.0)	1.90 (1.20-2.98)
Used cocaine in previous 3 mo	103 (61.3)	90 (44.6)	2.19 (1.38-3.48)
Thought about finding family doctor
No	40 (23.8)	27 (13.4)	1.00
Yes	23 (13.7)	53 (26.2)	0.28 (0.14-0.59)
Already has one	104 (61.9)	120 (59.4)	0.58 (0.32-1.04)
Depression	36 (21.4)	65 (32.2)	0.57 (0.34-0.93)
Has children	112 (66.7)	157 (77.7)	0.50 (0.30-0.85)
Education
< High school	93 (55.4)	81 (40.1)	1.00
High school	55 (32.7)	73 (36.1)	0.65 (0.41-1.04)
Postsecondary	8 (4.8)	37 (18.3)	0.19 (0.08-0.43)
Incarceration for theft under $5000	64 (38.1)	56 (27.7)	1.65 (1.01-2.70)
Incarceration for drug offence	15 (8.9)	48 (23.8)	0.30 (0.16-0.58)

Note: CI = confidence interval, IQR = interquartile range, OR = odds ratio.

*Twenty-five participants did not answer the question on criminal activity.

†Except where noted otherwise.

‡Reference is "no'" unless specified otherwise.

§On a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent).

Table 3: Factors significantly associated with committing a criminal act in the multivariable model

Variable	OR (95% CI)	Likelihood ratio test statistic
Good nutritional health	0.52 (0.35-0.76)	12.1
Good spiritual health	0.61 (0.44-0.83)	9.9
Education	-	10.3
< High school	1.00
High school	0.44 (0.22-0.87)	-
Postsecondary	0.20 (0.06-0.70)	-
Incarceration for drug offence		6.5
No	1.00
Yes	0.30 (0.12-0.79)