Incarceration, Work, and Health: How Those with Arrest and Incarceration History Fared During COVID-19

• In Event: Exploring the Collateral Consequences of Incarceration on Wellbeing

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine how those with an arrest and incarceration history fared on various employment and health factors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous research indicates that criminal justice contact has adverse impacts on employment and health, but little is known about whether this relationship has been impacted by the pandemic. Much of the current research on COVID-19 pertains to the virus’s effect on crime rates, policing, and incarceration. Few have questioned the role of previous arrests and incarceration on an individual’s COVID-19 experience. This study aims to address this research question.

Data/Methods: This research question is addressed using longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth COVID-19 supplement. This data is used to examine the relationships between prior arrest and incarceration and an individual’s employment and health factors during the COVID-19 pandemic (N=5,616).

Results: A multivariate analysis of the NLSY97 and NLSY97 COVID-19 supplement revealed the effects of arrest and incarceration on employment and health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusions/Implications: These findings add to the research pertaining to the relationship found between arrest and incarceration and various employment and health outcomes.

Authors

• Anna M. Kyser, University of Louisville

• Alex O. Widdowson, University of Louisville