Resource Location and the Strength of Resourceful Weak Ties

• In Event: Topics in Network Criminology

Abstract

Social networks play a crucial role in providing essential resources and information to individuals with felony convictions. Existing literature focuses on the function and value of core support networks, but the significance of weaker ties remains underexplored. This study integrates two methods for assessing social capital - a resource generator tool and name generator/interpreter method - to examine the presence of strong and weak ties and the resources accessible from each type. Specifically, based on face-to-face interviews with 160 women about their 1,313 network members, I test the association between network members’ average access to resources and location (i.e., core, active peripheral, and latent peripheral) on participants’ stable employment. Results indicate the need for further investigation into the social layer of legal system-involved individuals’ personal social network. The resourcefulness of the core network, measured by the average number of available resources, was positively related to participants' stable employment, while the network's size showed no statistical significance. There were no significant main effects regarding the size or resourcefulness of the latent peripheral layer. However, providing partial support for the strength of weak ties proposition, the resourcefulness of this layer correlated positively with participants' stable employment, when fewer members were named. In this, resourceful weak ties may offer benefits to maintaining employment.

Author

• Marva Goodson, Arizona State University