Prisoners’ Partner Relationships Prior to Detention. A Comparison Between Prisoners and the General Population.

• In Event: Examining the Impact of Romantic Relationships and Marriage on Offending

Abstract

The current study examines the partner relationships of prisoners prior to incarceration. Earlier studies on prisoners’ partner relationships exclusively focused on the period during or after incarceration. However, knowledge on the pre-detention period is essential to establish any causal effects of incarceration on partner relationships. We describe a wide variety of aspects of prisoners’ partner relationships: relationship history, current relationship status, and content of the current relationship (quality, support, conflict, and partner violence). In addition, we make a direct comparison with partner relationships among the general population. We use unique data from two large-scale longitudinal Dutch studies: the Prison Project (N = 1,909) and the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (N = 2,718). The results show that relationship histories and current partner relationships differ substantially between prisoners and the general population. The findings stress the importance of including pre-detention partner relationship information in studies on the impact of incarceration. Also, they shed light on the theoretical mechanisms underlying the relationship between partner relationships and crime. Finally, they point at the potential role of justice officials in offering guidance on prisoners’ partner relationships.

Authors

• Marieke van Schellen, Utrecht University

• Paul Nieuwbeerta, Leiden University