Incarceration Length and Post-Release Employment Outcomes: Investigating the Underlying Mechanisms

• In Event: Exploring the Collateral Consequences of Incarceration on Housing and Employment

Abstract

Objectives: This study investigates the relationship and underlying mechanisms between incarceration length and post-release employment.
Methods: Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, the authors used multivariate regression and dose-response models to examine whether (and why) incarceration length is associated with various employment outcomes in the 6 months following release from prison or jail.
Results: Controlling for a wide range of potential confounders (including pre-incarceration employment levels), the authors found that longer incarceration spells were significantly associated with working fewer hours post-release, and this is moderately explained by lower social support during confinement.
Conclusions: Implications for theory and research are discussed.

Authors

• Alex O. Widdowson, University of Louisville

• Sonja Siennick, Florida State University