Veteran Incarceration

Lived Experience and Pathways to Rehabilitation

Jason Flake, Steven Arxer, James LePage, Jason D. Flake, Steven L. Arxer, James P. LePage

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2026
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040656648
• Subtopic: Mental Health in Psychology
• Index: Social Sciences

Through qualitative interviews with formerly incarcerated veterans, this book focuses on the lived experiences, and behaviors associated with the incarceration of veterans. Guided by the life-course perspective, the authors have identified novel turning-point behaviors linked with incarceration. They provide an in-depth and nuanced understanding of veteran incarceration, blend veteran-centric behaviors with known incarceration factors (i.e., substance use and mental health disorders), and provide a glimpse into how these behaviors interact with other known factors (i.e., homelessness and unemployment). Understanding veterans' lived experiences with incarceration can provide policymakers and practitioners with the foundation for disrupting the incarceration cycle and positively impacting mental health and substance use problems, homelessness, and unemployment. The authors discuss social and health policy implications and provide recommendations on future research on veteran populations. This volume is enlightening and inspiring for researchers and scholars in public health, social work, and sociology/criminal justice programs, as well as all policymakers and practitioners concerned with veterans' adjustment to civilian life.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• 1 The Personal Impact of Incarceration
• 2 Contributors to Veteran Incarceration
• 3 The Need to Incorporate Lived Experiences
• 4 Veteran Identity, Treatment Seeking, and Service Provision
• 5 Trajectories and Transitions and How They Guide Our Understanding of Veteran Incarceration Experiences
• 6 Building Dialogue and Trust around Veteran Lived Experiences
• 7 Turning Points in Veterans’ Pathways to Incarceration
• 8 Perceptions of Choice and Control among Postincarcerated Veterans
• 9 Negative Service Experiences and Veterans’ Pathways to Incarceration
• 10 Self-Care Concept Formation and Incarceration Risks: Self-Medicating as Coping Behavior
• 11 Negative Life Events as Incarceration Turning Points
• 12 Veteran Identity, Incarceration Pathways, and Implications for Policy, Practice, and Evaluation
• Index