Johnna Christian
Biographic Data
| ID | 643209 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Johnna Christian |
| GIVEN NAMES | Johnna |
| FAMILY NAME | Christian |
| SIGNATURE | CHRISTIAN J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey |
| ORCID | 0009-0009-1732-3854 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 49 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 2 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Piercing the Veil, Resisting Erasure: Identity, Prison Visitation, and the Carceral Self
Prison visitation has been studied as a mechanism to strengthen incarcerated people's social ties to the outside world, decrease disciplinary infractions inside prison, and reduce recidivism upon release from confinement. At the same time, family members who enter prisons for visits experience dehumanization, bureaucratic hurdles, and an emotional toll adversely affecting their well-being. Important questions therefore remain about how incarcerat…
The Promise and Challenge of Local Initiatives That Support Reentry and Reintegration
Scholars and policy-makers are increasingly recognizing the limitations of bureaucracies to deliver the services and interventions that are most needed by people who have been impacted by the justice system. We are also seeing the ways in which supervision practices can exacerbate the challenges that formerly incarcerated people face in terms of meaningful reintegration with family and community after imprisonment. Local reentry initiatives are s…
Gender and (Fictive) Family in a Women’s Post-Incarceration Mentoring Program
Mentoring programs have become a popular tool of social support to facilitate post-incarceration re-entry. Still, we have a limited understanding of the fundamental aspects within mentor–mentee relationships that create a support network, particularly for women with troubled relationships with biological family. Through interviews with mentors and mentees, we examined key domains of women’s relationships with mentors to identify the potential and…
Beyond Recidivism: New Approaches to Research on Prisoner Reentry and Reintegration
Although there are some indicators of a recent deceleration, and even, in some states, reversal, of the recent growth of the US incarcerated populations, the past few decades of “tough-on-crime” policies have resulted in the incarceration of millions of individuals. An inevitable consequence is that most imprisoned individuals are released, reentering society. Research about prisoner reentry has advanced significantly across fields in the last de…
Work matters: Formerly Incarcerated Men’s Resiliency in Reentry
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how formerly incarcerated men remained resilient in the face of adversity while searching for and maintaining employment. Design/methodology/approach Grounded theory analysis is used to answer the following research questions: What challenges do formerly incarcerated men encounter in finding and maintaining employment? What strategies do they devise in the face of these barriers? The research en…
Work, Family, and Masculine Identity: An Intersectional Approach to Understanding Young, Black Men's Experiences of Reentry
Through a qualitative study of the reintegration experiences of African American men, aged 18-25, we heed Fader and Traylor's call for intersectional analyses of desistance and reentry. The current study draws from prior works to analyze the processes of "adultification" among economically disadvantaged African American young men and the impact of postincarceration employment challenges on masculine identity during young adulthood. We extend earl…
Betwixt and Between
This chapter draws from a qualitative study of incarcerated men to investigate the social processes and interactions between both correctional authorities and family members that inform their sense of belonging and legitimacy. It reveals that prison visitation rooms present a complex environment in which incarcerated men have access to discreet periods of visibility and relevance to their family members and the broader community. There are, howev…
Considering Focused Deterrence in the Age of Ferguson, Baltimore, North Charleston, and Beyond
How Offenders Transform Their Lives
1. Identity transformation and offender change, Bonita M. Veysey, Damian J. Martinez and Johnna Christian 2. Moments of transformation: formerly incarcerated individuals' narratives of change, Johnna Christian, Bonita M. Veysey, Bryn Herrschaft and Heather Tubman-Carbone 3. Looking-glass identity transformation: Pygmalion and Golem in the rehabilitation process, Shadd Maruna, Thomas P. Lebel, Michelle Naples and Nick Mitchell 4. Former prisoners,…
Secondary narratives in the aftermath of crime: Defining family members’ relationships with prisoners
In the research presented here, we apply the storyline framework of the criminal event to the secondary narrative of prisoners’ relationships with family members before and during incarceration, and their plans for life upon release from prison. Analyzing 29 in-depth interviews from 13 inmate/family dyads and one inmate/family triad, we examine multiple views of the impact of incarceration and its consequences for the incarcerated individual, the…
Examining the Intersections of Race, Gender, and Mass Imprisonment
As incarceration rates in the United States have reached the highest point in history, the concept of mass imprisonment describes both high levels of imprisonment and its potential far reaching consequences. With disproportionately high rates of incarceration for African Americans compared to other racial and ethnic groups, mass imprisonment's impact on the Black community is a topic of critical importance. Black women in particular face unique c…
The Familial Relationships of Former Prisoners: Examining the Link between Residence and Informal Support Mechanisms
Former prisoners face tremendous challenges on release from prison- particularly in their reintegration into family relationships. The research evidence indicates that family support is essential to avoid reincarceration. Little is known, however, about what occurs in these relationships, specifically how support is exchanged, why it facilitates success, and which types of support are meaningful. This article examines how former prisoners and the…
Social and economic implications of family connections to prisoners
Riding the Bus: Barriers to Prison Visitation and Family Management Strategies
Geographic separation from family is one consequence of imprisonment. Depending on the state, prisons are often located in remote, rural areas that are far from the urban cores many prisoners come from. Although scholars frequently cite the distance of prison facilities from prisoners’ families’ residences, scant research has addressed whether this is in fact an impediment to visiting or how families who do visit manage this process. It is an exh…
Social and economic implications of family connections to prisoners
Secondary narratives in the aftermath of crime: Defining family members’ relationships with prisoners
In the research presented here, we apply the storyline framework of the criminal event to the secondary narrative of prisoners’ relationships with family members before and during incarceration, and their plans for life upon release from prison. Analyzing 29 in-depth interviews from 13 inmate/family dyads and one inmate/family triad, we examine multiple views of the impact of incarceration and its consequences for the incarcerated individual, the…
The Familial Relationships of Former Prisoners: Examining the Link between Residence and Informal Support Mechanisms
Former prisoners face tremendous challenges on release from prison- particularly in their reintegration into family relationships. The research evidence indicates that family support is essential to avoid reincarceration. Little is known, however, about what occurs in these relationships, specifically how support is exchanged, why it facilitates success, and which types of support are meaningful. This article examines how former prisoners and the…
Work, Family, and Masculine Identity: An Intersectional Approach to Understanding Young, Black Men's Experiences of Reentry
Through a qualitative study of the reintegration experiences of African American men, aged 18-25, we heed Fader and Traylor's call for intersectional analyses of desistance and reentry. The current study draws from prior works to analyze the processes of "adultification" among economically disadvantaged African American young men and the impact of postincarceration employment challenges on masculine identity during young adulthood. We extend earl…
Piercing the Veil, Resisting Erasure: Identity, Prison Visitation, and the Carceral Self
Prison visitation has been studied as a mechanism to strengthen incarcerated people's social ties to the outside world, decrease disciplinary infractions inside prison, and reduce recidivism upon release from confinement. At the same time, family members who enter prisons for visits experience dehumanization, bureaucratic hurdles, and an emotional toll adversely affecting their well-being. Important questions therefore remain about how incarcerat…
The Promise and Challenge of Local Initiatives That Support Reentry and Reintegration
Scholars and policy-makers are increasingly recognizing the limitations of bureaucracies to deliver the services and interventions that are most needed by people who have been impacted by the justice system. We are also seeing the ways in which supervision practices can exacerbate the challenges that formerly incarcerated people face in terms of meaningful reintegration with family and community after imprisonment. Local reentry initiatives are s…
Gender and (Fictive) Family in a Women’s Post-Incarceration Mentoring Program
Mentoring programs have become a popular tool of social support to facilitate post-incarceration re-entry. Still, we have a limited understanding of the fundamental aspects within mentor–mentee relationships that create a support network, particularly for women with troubled relationships with biological family. Through interviews with mentors and mentees, we examined key domains of women’s relationships with mentors to identify the potential and…
Work matters: Formerly Incarcerated Men’s Resiliency in Reentry
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how formerly incarcerated men remained resilient in the face of adversity while searching for and maintaining employment. Design/methodology/approach Grounded theory analysis is used to answer the following research questions: What challenges do formerly incarcerated men encounter in finding and maintaining employment? What strategies do they devise in the face of these barriers? The research en…
Considering Focused Deterrence in the Age of Ferguson, Baltimore, North Charleston, and Beyond
Riding the Bus: Barriers to Prison Visitation and Family Management Strategies
Geographic separation from family is one consequence of imprisonment. Depending on the state, prisons are often located in remote, rural areas that are far from the urban cores many prisoners come from. Although scholars frequently cite the distance of prison facilities from prisoners’ families’ residences, scant research has addressed whether this is in fact an impediment to visiting or how families who do visit manage this process. It is an exh…
Social and economic implications of family connections to prisoners
Examining the Intersections of Race, Gender, and Mass Imprisonment
As incarceration rates in the United States have reached the highest point in history, the concept of mass imprisonment describes both high levels of imprisonment and its potential far reaching consequences. With disproportionately high rates of incarceration for African Americans compared to other racial and ethnic groups, mass imprisonment's impact on the Black community is a topic of critical importance. Black women in particular face unique c…
The Familial Relationships of Former Prisoners: Examining the Link between Residence and Informal Support Mechanisms
Former prisoners face tremendous challenges on release from prison- particularly in their reintegration into family relationships. The research evidence indicates that family support is essential to avoid reincarceration. Little is known, however, about what occurs in these relationships, specifically how support is exchanged, why it facilitates success, and which types of support are meaningful. This article examines how former prisoners and the…
Secondary narratives in the aftermath of crime: Defining family members’ relationships with prisoners
In the research presented here, we apply the storyline framework of the criminal event to the secondary narrative of prisoners’ relationships with family members before and during incarceration, and their plans for life upon release from prison. Analyzing 29 in-depth interviews from 13 inmate/family dyads and one inmate/family triad, we examine multiple views of the impact of incarceration and its consequences for the incarcerated individual, the…
How Offenders Transform Their Lives
1. Identity transformation and offender change, Bonita M. Veysey, Damian J. Martinez and Johnna Christian 2. Moments of transformation: formerly incarcerated individuals' narratives of change, Johnna Christian, Bonita M. Veysey, Bryn Herrschaft and Heather Tubman-Carbone 3. Looking-glass identity transformation: Pygmalion and Golem in the rehabilitation process, Shadd Maruna, Thomas P. Lebel, Michelle Naples and Nick Mitchell 4. Former prisoners,…
Considering Focused Deterrence in the Age of Ferguson, Baltimore, North Charleston, and Beyond
Betwixt and Between
This chapter draws from a qualitative study of incarcerated men to investigate the social processes and interactions between both correctional authorities and family members that inform their sense of belonging and legitimacy. It reveals that prison visitation rooms present a complex environment in which incarcerated men have access to discreet periods of visibility and relevance to their family members and the broader community. There are, howev…
Work matters: Formerly Incarcerated Men’s Resiliency in Reentry
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how formerly incarcerated men remained resilient in the face of adversity while searching for and maintaining employment. Design/methodology/approach Grounded theory analysis is used to answer the following research questions: What challenges do formerly incarcerated men encounter in finding and maintaining employment? What strategies do they devise in the face of these barriers? The research en…
Work, Family, and Masculine Identity: An Intersectional Approach to Understanding Young, Black Men's Experiences of Reentry
Through a qualitative study of the reintegration experiences of African American men, aged 18-25, we heed Fader and Traylor's call for intersectional analyses of desistance and reentry. The current study draws from prior works to analyze the processes of "adultification" among economically disadvantaged African American young men and the impact of postincarceration employment challenges on masculine identity during young adulthood. We extend earl…
Beyond Recidivism: New Approaches to Research on Prisoner Reentry and Reintegration
Although there are some indicators of a recent deceleration, and even, in some states, reversal, of the recent growth of the US incarcerated populations, the past few decades of “tough-on-crime” policies have resulted in the incarceration of millions of individuals. An inevitable consequence is that most imprisoned individuals are released, reentering society. Research about prisoner reentry has advanced significantly across fields in the last de…
The Promise and Challenge of Local Initiatives That Support Reentry and Reintegration
Scholars and policy-makers are increasingly recognizing the limitations of bureaucracies to deliver the services and interventions that are most needed by people who have been impacted by the justice system. We are also seeing the ways in which supervision practices can exacerbate the challenges that formerly incarcerated people face in terms of meaningful reintegration with family and community after imprisonment. Local reentry initiatives are s…
Gender and (Fictive) Family in a Women’s Post-Incarceration Mentoring Program
Mentoring programs have become a popular tool of social support to facilitate post-incarceration re-entry. Still, we have a limited understanding of the fundamental aspects within mentor–mentee relationships that create a support network, particularly for women with troubled relationships with biological family. Through interviews with mentors and mentees, we examined key domains of women’s relationships with mentors to identify the potential and…
Piercing the Veil, Resisting Erasure: Identity, Prison Visitation, and the Carceral Self
Prison visitation has been studied as a mechanism to strengthen incarcerated people's social ties to the outside world, decrease disciplinary infractions inside prison, and reduce recidivism upon release from confinement. At the same time, family members who enter prisons for visits experience dehumanization, bureaucratic hurdles, and an emotional toll adversely affecting their well-being. Important questions therefore remain about how incarcerat…
Criminology (14 works) · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis (13 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Psychology (11 works) · Homelessness and Social Issues (8 works) · Prison (7 works) · Political science (6 works) · Crime Patterns and Interventions (5 works) · Law (5 works) · Social Psychology (5 works)