The Million Dollar Block effect: How sexual relationships have been affected by high rates of incarceration.

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Abstract

“Million Dollar Blocks” are those areas of a city where so many people are incarcerated that it costs the state a million dollars per year to keep its residents in prison. One notable outcome of these high rates of incarceration has been an imbalance in the ratio of males to females. This paper asks how sexual relationships have been affected in neighborhoods that feature high rates of incarceration, especially the outlooks and orientations that children of the incarcerated now hold with regard to sex, sexuality and relationships. Given the dearth of eligible men in these neighborhoods are women more accepting of “cheating” by their partners? Are men more inclined to have or want multiple relationships? Are relationships more instrumental rather than emotional? Using survey and in-depth interview data from young people in New York City that was collected by students at John Jay College in 2015-16, this presentation examines the question of whether the long-term effects of high rates of incarceration are evident in the daily lives of young New Yorkers.

Authors

• Sarah Rivera, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

• Fabio Mattioli, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

• Gabriella Mungalsingh, John Jay College of Criminal Justice