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

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

What is social reintegration?

Social reinsertion is understood as the process by which an individual who for some reason has abandoned or been deprived of his liberty and of his ties and participation in society tries to become part of the community again .

It is a systematic process that seeks to correct and modify all those elements that may have contributed to this loss of freedom , and to prevent and avoid its recurrence. In other words, it seeks to readapt to society in such a way that it corrects the errors or elements that led it to commit a crime or to suffer the deprivation of contact with the environment.

Areas and types of population in need of reintegration

We generally speak of social reintegration in the prison environment , in the case of subjects who have committed crimes or offences for which they have been tried and sentenced to prison.

In fact, technically, the sentence of deprivation of liberty has a purpose theoretically centered on the prevention of recidivism and social reintegration , in addition to the compensation of the damages generated and the protection of the citizens and the subject himself.

In this case, the process of social reintegration includes a wide variety of interventions, both at the therapeutic level (if necessary) and at the level of training that will allow them to participate in society once their sentence is over, improve their situation and increase their pro-sociality and positive attachment to their environment while seeking to reduce the chances of recidivism in criminal behaviour.

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

Social reintegration programmes usually include training and workshops at the occupational level, therapy programmes for different psychiatric problems or for the prevention of antisocial behaviour, employment guidance and accompaniment. They may also include family interventions, training to prepare the subject for life in freedom, association and linkage with community resources.

Training in skills is common , including social or job search skills. Also areas such as health, leisure or academic training are elements to be dealt with.

Aspects that facilitate reintegration into society

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

One of the main factors favouring success in reinsertion can be found in the subject’s own willingness to change , in addition to the presence of sufficient cognitive faculties to understand one’s own actions and their consequences and awareness of the need for change.

Another major predictor of success is found in the presence of personal motivations and life goals. Such goals may include the recovery of family relationships (with special emphasis on children), getting a job and stability or changing your 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 by the family are other very relevant factors, as long as they are a support in the change and do not carry out acts of sabotage or are forces against behaviour modification. The presence of a partner is also generally positive, as long as it is not an unequal relationship in which there is dominance/submission or abuse

Other factors to be taken into account that have been associated with greater ease of reintegration are medium-high socio-educational levels, the absence of substance consumption or untreated mental health problems, the lack of treatment or previous attempts at reintegration, the absence of a prior history of the event that led to the deprivation of liberty and the absence of previous recidivism in criminal behaviour.

Elements that can make reintegration difficult

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

The lack of social support or an environment that facilitates criminal behaviour or enhances the cause of deprivation of liberty are also aspects that can harm reintegration. The lack of resources to introduce change, 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 element that can make social reintegration difficult may be precisely one of the reasons why they need such reintegration: the consumption of drugs . Such consumption is one of the factors that can make reinsertion measures fail in contexts such as prisons, but if the treatment of dependency is taken into account and psychoeducational measures are implemented to bring about change.

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

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

Everyone’s reinstated?

As a general rule, it is estimated that at least in Spain around 69-70% of the prisoners manage to successfully reintegrate into society without recidivism in the behaviour that led them to prison, something that however leaves a third of the number of convicts who do. In this sense, social reintegration programmes can be useful in a wide variety of subjects, although there has often been criticism of the existence of few programmes and the presence of excessively limited resources to carry them out successfully.

However, there are cases whose reintegration is usually much more complicated, and current techniques are relatively successful. In this sense, the subjects with psychopathy stand out especially, who have often been considered impossible to reinsert because they lack empathy (despite the fact that other studies seem to indicate that change is possible in various factors).

Another of the sectors with the worst prognosis is that of systematic sex offenders , being one of the sectors with the highest probability of recidivism. In general, moreover, the higher the level of recidivism, the less effective the reintegration measures.

As far as subjects with mental disorders, substance addiction or victims of traumatic events are concerned, the success of reintegration can vary greatly depending on the case, although it can also generally be highly successful as long as an appropriate therapeutic process is carried out and followed by the subject.

Bibliographic references:

  • García García, J. (1999). Modelo de reinserción social y tratamiento penitenciario, Drogodependencias y Justicia penal (p. 308). Madrid: Ministry of Justice.
  • Gonzalez, L.M. (2010). Social reintegration, a psychological approach. Derecho y Realidad, 16.
  • Menéndez C. y García, E. (2018). Predictive characteristics of success in the social reintegration of drug addicts. Social Pedagogy. Interuniversity Journal, 32: 107-125. Third period.