Social reintegration: what is it and what are its effects?

Social reintegration is associated with penitentiary, psychiatric and psychological fields. What is it?

Many people suffer some circumstance or perform some action in the course of their lives that leads them to lose their freedom and see their contact with the community curtailed. If this deprivation occurs over a long period of time, or the reasons for it derive from a poor adjustment to society, it may be necessary to undergo a process of social reintegration.

Such a process is somewhat complex and its effectiveness is sometimes a matter of controversy. But what is it? Throughout this article we will discuss the concept of social reintegration, areas in which it may be required and factors that can both hinder and facilitate its success.

What is social reintegration?

Social reintegration is understood as the process by which an individual who for some reason has left or has been deprived of liberty and of connection with and participation in society, attempts to become part of the community again. attempts to rejoin the community..

It is a systematic process that seeks to correct and to correct and modify all those elements that may have contributed to this loss of freedom, and to prevent and avoid its recurrenceand to impede and prevent its recurrence.

In other words, the aim is to readapt the person to society in such a way that the errors or elements that led him to commit a crime or to suffer deprivation of contact with the environment are corrected.

In this way, social reintegration is closely linked to correctional services that come into operation once the person has violated the rules necessary for coexistence, so that psychological intervention measures are taken to attempt to that this dynamic of antisocial behavior does not happen again..

Areas and types of population in need of reintegration

We generally speak of social reintegration in the penitentiary settingIn the case of individuals who have committed crimes or offenses for which they have been tried and sentenced to prison.

In fact, technically, the sentence of deprivation of liberty itself has a theoretically focused a purpose theoretically focused on the prevention of recidivism and social reintegration, as well as retribution for the crimes or crimes for which they have been tried and sentenced to prison.The purpose of the sentence of imprisonment itself is theoretically focused on the prevention of recidivism and social reintegration, as well as retribution for the damages generated and the protection of the citizens and the subject himself.

In this case, the social reintegration process includes a wide variety of interventions, both at the therapeutic level (if needed) and at the level of training to enable them to participate in society once their sentence is over, to improve their situation and increase their prosociality and positive relationship with the environment, while seeking to reduce the chances of recidivism in criminal behavior.

But not only convicted and sentenced persons are reintegrated into society. Anyone who has been deprived of liberty for any reason may need a social reintegration process. In this sense may be required by persons who have been admitted to a psychiatric hospital or who have been victims or witnesses of a crime. or who have been victims or witnesses of traumatic events, such as kidnappings or attacks.

Social reintegration programs usually include occupational training and workshops, therapy programs for different psychiatric problems or for the prevention of antisocial behavior, job orientation and accompaniment. They may also include family interventions, training to prepare the subject for life at liberty, association and linkage with community resources.

Skills training is commonincluding social or job search skills. Areas such as health, leisure or academic training are also elements to be addressed.

Aspects that facilitate reintegration into society.

Reintegration into society is complex, especially in those who have been deprived of liberty for a long time or who have psychosocial adjustment difficulties. However, there are factors that can facilitate the process.

One of the main factors that favor success in reintegration can be found in the individual's own willingness to changeThe presence of sufficient cognitive faculties to understand one's own actions and their consequences and awareness of the need to change.

Other major predictors of success are found in the presence of personal motivations and life goals. Such goals may include the recovery of family relationships (especially that of their children), getting a job and stability, or changing their life completely. In the case of convicted subjects, the recovery of their own life and the avoidance of being deprived again may be a goal per se.

The presence of social support, the absence of conflicts with the family and the perception of support The presence of a partner is also a very relevant factor, as long as they are supportive of the change and do not act as saboteurs or forces against behavior modification. The presence of a partner is also generally positive, as long as it is not an unequal relationship in which there is a relationship of dominance/submission or there is abuse or mistreatment.

Other factors to take into account that have been associated with greater ease of reintegration are medium-high socio-educational levels, the absence of substance abuse or untreated mental health problems, the lack of treatment or previous attempts at reintegration, the absence of a history of the event that has generated the deprivation of liberty and not having previously reoffended in criminal behavior.

Factors that can make reintegration more difficult

On the other hand, there are also factors that make reintegration more complicated. One of the main ones is the lack of capacity for self-criticism or lack of awareness of the need for change. Lack of empathy is also a major difficulty, as well as lack of personal responsibility and vision for the future.

The lack of social support or an environment that facilitates criminal behavior or that enhances the cause of deprivation of liberty are also aspects that can be detrimental to reintegration. The lack of resources to introduce changes, especially in the personal and cognitive areas, as well as the lack of life goals or expectations to achieve change can complicate the process.

Another of the elements that can make social reintegration difficult may be precisely one of the causes of the need for such reintegration: drug use. Drug use is one of the factors that can cause reinsertive measures to fail in contexts such as prisons, especially if the treatment of dependence is taken into account and psychoeducational measures are implemented to bring about change.

In the case of drug users, the type of substance and the time of abstinence are also elements to consider when treating their reintegration. when dealing with their reintegration over time. In general, this may take longer in poly-drug or heroin-dependent users, while users dependent on "soft" drugs tend to be reinserted more quickly. However, as long as there is a commitment to change and a therapeutic process behind it. Also the general state of health prior to withdrawal or deprivation of liberty.

With regard to subjects with severe mental disorders and who have required hospitalization, the number of previous admissions or the experience of situations such as sexual abuse or suicide attempts should also be taken into account. All this can negatively affect or prolong the process through which the subject will have to pass if he/she wants to return to the community.

Does everyone reintegrate?

As a general rule, it is estimated that at least in Spain around 69-70% of prisoners are successfully reintegrated into society without reoffending. without relapsing back into the behavior that led them to prison, which, however, leaves only a third of the number of convicts who do. In this sense, social reintegration programs can be useful in a wide variety of subjects, although the existence of few programs and the presence of excessively limited resources to carry them out successfully has often been criticized.

However, there are cases whose reintegration is usually much more complicated, and current techniques are relatively successful. In this regard, psychopathic individuals are particularly noteworthy, who have often been considered impossible to reintegrate due to their lack of empathy (although other studies seem to indicate that change is possible in several factors).

Another of the sectors with the worst prognosis is that of systematic sex offenders. systematic sexual offendersbeing one of the sectors with the highest probability of recidivism. In general, moreover, the higher the level of recidivism, the lower the effectiveness of reinsertive measures.

With regard to subjects with mental disorders, substance addiction or victims of traumatic events, the success of reintegration can be very variable depending on the case, although in general it can also be highly successful as long as an adequate therapeutic process is carried out and followed by the subject.