In addition to standard parole conditions, parolees under federal community supervision may be subject to special conditions as determined by the Parole Board of Canada; such conditions are intended to manage factors associated with criminogenic risk and need. One set of special conditions places restrictions on parolees’ social relationships and associations, which can include general restrictions (e.g., non-association with individuals involved in crime) or specific restrictions (e.g., no contact with one’s victim or co-accused). Drawing on case files of women under community supervision (n = 43), we explore how non-association and no contact orders shape community release experiences. We suggest that such conditions can have wide-reaching effects on women’s social lives and reintegration (e.g., in the areas of social support, employment, and housing), thereby, at times, complicating women’s attempts to construct post-institutional lives and identities. We consider how association conditions illustrate the broader tension between parole requirements and reintegration.

Background and aims: Community-based rehabilitation programs for people with a brain injury are diverse. Comparative program evaluation is required to identify optimal type, intensity and duration of programs. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two community-based rehabilitation programs using a set of standardised outcome measures.

Methods: The study used a quantitative, multicentre, longitudinal design. Persons with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI, n = 39) and acquired brain impairment (n = 2) were recruited from two residential, transitional living programs (TLU; n = 21) and two home-based community rehabilitation programs (CR; n = 20). Participants were assessed via interview at program entry, 2 months and 6 months later using a broad range of standardised measures. The quantity and types of intervention provided to study participants were recorded. Results: No significant differences were identified between the TLU and CR groups at baseline or 6-month follow-up. Two significant group-by-time interactions were identified on the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ). First, the CR group had significantly greater changes in productivity (p = .003; d = 1.0) compared to the TLU group over time; by contrast, the TLU group showed significantly greater improvements in social integration (p = .007; d = .86). The TLU participants received up to five times more intervention than the CR participants. This finding is significant considering the similar levels of improvement in function made by both TLU and CR participants.

Conclusions: Both TLU and CR groups improved on a range of measures. The TLU group however, received significantly more face-to-face interventions. Further examination of the relationship between participant contextual factors, such as coping style and self-esteem, and impairments such as challenging behaviour and decreased self-awareness, of people attending TLU and CR programs is required.

Acquired brain injury (ABI) is considered to be the primary cause of disability in our society. People with ABI face an array of challenges, which include emotional lability, disinhibition, irritability, distractibility, executive dysfunction, memory difficulties, inattention and noticeable changes to personality. Effective rehabilitation and community reintegration is considered essential for those with ABI but impeding the process is society's lack of knowledge and understanding. This is due in some part to the invisible nature of the disability. The focus of this article is to introduce the key areas that influence reintegration, being the rehabilitation process, service access and interventions. It is clear the reintegration process is greatly restricted by the lack of services and programs available to improve the long-term outcomes for people with ABI. To help facilitate successful community reintegration the article developed and lists a significant number of management strategies to assist those who are involved in the lives of people with ABI.

The early onset of depression following traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with poorer psychosocial outcomes; however, the direction of this relationship is unclear. This study investigated the relationship between progress in resuming preinjury lifestyle (transition events), change in perceived functioning and level of depressive symptoms at discharge and 3-months postdischarge. As part of a prospective longitudinal study of brain injury outcomes, 96 consecutively discharged patients with TBI completed measures of transition events (Sentinel Events Questionnaire) and perceived functioning (Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 Ability and Adjustment indices) at discharge and 3-months follow-up. Level of depressive symptoms was assessed at discharge and 3-months follow-up using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21. After controlling for age and discharge depressive symptoms, change in perceived functioning was found to mediate the relationship between total transition events and depressive symptoms at 3-months postdischarge (β reduced from .21 to .14), with a significant indirect effect observed. The present findings indicate that lack of progress in resuming preinjury lifestyle contributes to postdischarge depressive symptoms through an influence on perceived functioning, thus providing an improved conceptualization of reactive depression in the context of brain injury. (JINS, 2011, 17, 000–000)