Gender and reentry: investigating co-educational practices in a jail-based residential substance abuse treatment (RSAT) setting

Young, Madison Amber (2023) Gender and reentry: investigating co-educational practices in a jail-based residential substance abuse treatment (RSAT) setting. Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

This thesis investigates men’s and women’s experiences within a co-educational, jail-based, residential substance abuse treatment (RSAT) program. Using a qualitative research design, this research examined secondary, semi-structured interviews with individuals experiencing incarceration from a Colorado residential substance abuse treatment program to understand how gender impacts participants’ experiences in the program. This research aims to explain how heteronormative views reinforced by the jail determine the experiences of individuals within an RSAT program. Through this approach, this study explores themes such as the benefits of the co-educational environment, the replication of a community-based treatment environment within a jail, as well as participants’ experiences of gender segregation and gender inequality. Participants expressed having positive experiences when they could replicate their lives prior to incarceration in environments that include a work program outside of the jail, having positive interactions with their fellow participants regardless of gender, and having positive experiences with the program staff. Participants expressed having negative experiences when they experienced gender segregation and gender inequality which included issues surrounding the division of genders, unequal privileges, lack of co-gender environments, and issues surrounding feminine hygiene. Overall, these findings reveal that participants feel dehumanized within the program and that there is a need to identify and adjust the program in a way that would create more engaging experiences for individuals within the program.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	Educational; Jail-Based; RSAT; Gender; Drug rehabilitation; Inmates
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Social and Behavioral Science > Criminology and Criminal Justice
Date Deposited:	23 Oct 2025 17:29
Last Modified:	23 Oct 2025 17:29
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/6237

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