Fostering hope among formerly incarcerated Black men

The benefits of fostering hope are widely known. Informally in our hearts and formally in research, there is support for higher levels of hope and many positive psychological outcomes. Still, empirical research has lacked breadth and magnitude as it relates to exploring the personal lived experiences of Black folks, including formerly incarcerated Black men and their sense of collective hope. With this dissertation, I sought to address a gap in the literature. I specifically examined the hope-fostering strategies of 12 formerly incarcerated Black men in their returns to the community after release from prison and jail. I identified seven main themes from individual one-on-one interviews, using standard thematic analysis steps. Three main themes were comparable to elements identified in Mosley and colleagues’ (2019) psychological framework of radical hope: Creating Meaning and Purpose, Drawing Strength/ Inspiration from the Past, and Strengthening Faith/ Spirituality. The consistency of the present study’s findings with Mosley and colleagues (2019) and Herth (1990) suggest that there are fundamental hope-fostering strategies, and the differences indicate that there is the potential for hope-fostering strategies specific to formerly incarcerated Black men (Shifting Perspective/ Developing Positive Outlook, Engaging Healing/ Growth Strategies, Building Community/ Sustaining Support Network, and Maximizing Impact through Advocacy and Action). Implications for research, practice, and community interventions with formerly incarcerated Black men are discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Hayes, Richmond E.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Neville, Helen A
• Windsor, Liliane C.
• Lewis, Jarrett T.
• Kilgore, James W.

• Hope
• Radical Hope
• Hope-fostering Strategies
• Black Men
• Reentry

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Richmond E. Hayes

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125560

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F125560