Successful Reentry Through the Eyes of Female Ex-Offenders: A Qualitative Study

The thesis aims to highlight successful stories of female ex-offender reentry into the community. Success, rather than failure, seems to be a current research gap in reentry literature. To gain an insight on the matter, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with seven female ex-offenders. These women had previously taken part of the program, Exodus Ministries in Dallas, Texas. Systematic Text Condensation (STC) was utilized to analyze the qualitative data from the interviews. The results were then discussed in a theoretical framework in regard to previous research. Two theories were utilized; namely, the theory of “making good” by Maruna (2001) and the theory of cognitive transformation by Giordano, Cernkovich and Rudolph (2002). In conclusion, the results of the thesis point to reentry programs, such as Exodus Ministries; motherhood; religion; fundamental life changes; identity transformation and utilizing resources as essential factors needed for successful reentry into the community upon release from institutionalization