Investigating predictors of work volition for formerly incarcerated adults: A hierarchical regression analysis

Abstract

Sadly, people who have spent time in prison face many challenges in accessing and maintaining fulfilling employment, and most research focused on formerly incarcerated people has emphasized institutional variables, like recidivism, rather than emphasizing outcomes of well-being (Newton et al., 2018). The current study addresses this gap in the literature by utilizing the Psychology of Working Theory (Duffy et al., 2016) to investigate predictors of work volition for formerly incarcerated adults. Work volition has been demonstrated to predict access to decent work, and to mediate the harmful effects of marginalization and economic constraints on work outcomes for traditionally excluded or disempowered workers. The current study recruited n = 137 participants using on online survey panel platform and used hierarchical regression analysis to determine the extent to which time spent incarcerated and engagement with workplace readiness courses designed for incarcerated populations predicted work volition, while controlling for variables of race, gender, and economic constraints. While time spent incarcerated and engagement in these courses did not add significant predictive power to the control model, the current study did offer additional support for the Psychology of Working Theory being applied to formerly incarcerated individuals, and offered actionable directions for future research, especially in accessing formerly incarcerated women for research. Finally, the findings also offer educators working within the Department of Corrections some new perspectives on the role of work volition, and how any educational course could benefit by increasing perceptions of work volition for these marginalized workers.