Proceedings of the International scientific and practical conference ―Oxford International Science Forum‖ (February 6-8, 2026) / Publisher website: www.naukainfo.com. - Oxford, United Kingdom, 2026. - 245 p.

83 The first group covers factors related to the initial conviction and the first crime: the socio-economic and political situation of the state, family upbringing, the influence of the immediate environment and the mass media, biological and psychophysiological characteristics of the individual (temperament, intelligence, hereditary diseases, accentuations, etc.), as well as specific life situations in which various criminogenic phenomena are combined. The second group of determinants is related to the process of serving a sentence. Studies convincingly prove that imprisonment is accompanied by significant moral, psychological and material losses for convicts, which leads to a decrease in their social value and increased alienation from society. The psychological restructuring that takes place in conditions of isolation is complex and often destructive for most prisoners. The third group covers the determinants of post-penitentiary adaptation, in particular difficulties with employment, housing, organisation of daily life, social rehabilitation and control after release [3, р. 189-192]. Therefore, the main factors influencing recidivism have been broadly identified. However, there is another aspect that is often overlooked or only indirectly mentioned in these categories: the lack of freedom as a distinct state of being. For individuals who are likely to reoffend, this lack of freedom can serve as a form of psychological compensation following a crime. Over time, it may evolve into a deeply felt need that resonates on a nearly physiological level. Within the prison environment, everything is structured, predictable and understandable for individuals prone to recidivism: it is an environment where they have a certain status and where there is no need to make an effort to change antisocial behaviour into socially acceptable behaviour, to develop socially relevant skills, to make an effort to work on themselves and to develop themselves. Many individuals who have been released often face significant social isolation due to stigma and alienation from their communities. As a result, some find support from antisocial groups and may quickly commit new crimes. They do this in an attempt to return to their ―comfort zone‖ – the places of confinement. In these environments, they