Family Spillovers of Arrest: Parental Work Hours After a Child’s Arrest

• In Event: Drivers of Families and Households

Abstract

Although prior research has examined how an individual’s arrest record shapes their own labor market outcomes, less attention has been paid to whether and how parents adjust their labor market behavior when their child is arrested. Using longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the Transition into Adulthood Supplement, this paper examines whether parent’s work hours and employment change following their child’s arrest. Preliminary results suggest a gender divergence. Mothers are more likely to increase labor force attachment following a child’s arrest, shifting away from non-work and part-time work and toward full-time work and overwork. Fathers, by contrast, show comparatively limited change across work hour categories but a higher likelihood of not working. Together, these patterns highlight a family-level pathway through which vicarious contact with the criminal legal system may shape stratification in the United States.

Author

• Daichi Hibi, Washington University in St. Louis