Purpose There are a significant number of life-sentenced prisoners in Scotland who are over tariff (i.e. past their punishment part expiry date) and who appear to have difficulty in making the transition towards community reintegration. The factors involved in their repeated returns to closed conditions are not adequately understood. The purpose of this paper is to explore this issue using a qualitative approach in order to understand the experience of life-sentenced prisoners in this position, and the psychological barriers that compromise their progression to less secure conditions and the community. Design/methodology/approach In-depth interviews were conducted with eight life-sentenced prisoners who met the criteria for the research. All were significantly over tariff and all had multiple failed attempts at progression to less secure conditions. Interviews were recorded and transcripts were analysed using theoretical thematic analysis. Findings The analysis produced three identifiable supraordinate themes, each with subordinate themes. The supraordinate themes included: shaming self-identify, perception of the community as daunting, and disempowerment. The ability to generalise the findings outwith the participants of this study are acknowledged. Practical implications This has provided further understanding as to the complexity of the issue, and the ways in which it manifests into behaviour. Initial (albeit tentative) recommendations for intervention and service provision can therefore be identified. Originality/value The results are discussed against the implications for service provision in Scottish prisons, and identify the areas for further research that will help to inform the forensic practices in this context.

中文翻译：

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关税论者：探索进步的心理障碍

目的苏格兰有很多被判处无期徒刑的囚犯，他们的关税过高（即超过其惩罚部分的有效期），并且似乎在向社区重返社会过渡方面遇到困难。他们反复返回到封闭状态所涉及的因素还没有得到足够的了解。本文的目的是通过定性的方法来探讨这个问题，以便了解在该位置被判处无期徒刑的囚犯的经历，以及影响他们发展到较不安全的条件和社区的心理障碍。设计/方法/方法对符合研究标准的八名被判无期徒刑的囚犯进行了深入采访。所有这些都大大超过了关税，并且都多次尝试失败，以发展到不太安全的条件。记录访谈，并使用理论主题分析对成绩单进行分析。结果分析产生了三个可识别的上级主题，每个主题都有下级主题。最重要的主题包括：羞辱自我认同，将社区视为艰巨的感知和丧失权力。公认有能力将研究结果概括为这项研究的参与者。实际意义这使人们对问题的复杂性及其表现出的方​​式有了进一步的了解。因此，可以确定有关干预和服务提供的初步（尽管是初步的）建议。