Stuck in the Middle with You: Revisiting the Special Sensitivity Hypothesis for White-Collar Offenders

• In Event: Carrot or Stick: Regulatory Models, Sanctions, and Offender Responses to Sanctions

Abstract

The special sensitivity hypothesis asserts that the atypical background and personal characteristics of white-collar offenders may make them particularly susceptible to the “pains of imprisonment” while incarcerated. Alternatively, for analogous reasons, the special resiliency hypothesis predicts that these offenders may actually fare better behind bars due to their social capital and the importation of their non-criminal identity. Using a national dataset of U.S. prisoners, we evaluated symptoms of negative affect, misconduct, and various institutional outcomes among two distinct groups of white-collar offenders: those defined by their status (i.e., employment, finances, and education) and those defined by specialized access only. Findings indicated that the high-status offenders were significantly more likely to have a work assignment and to have received professional help. However, while the offense-based group was also significantly more likely to have a work assignment, they exhibited significantly worse negative affect and were significantly less likely to have participated in educational programming. These results suggest that, at least in the short-term, such offenders appear to be “stuck in the middle” and unable to successfully adapt to prison life or to rise above it. We conclude by examining the implications for criminological theory and criminal justice policy.

Authors

• Matthew Logan, Texas State University

• Mark Alden Morgan, University of Dayton

• Joshua Shane Long, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• Hei Lam Chio, Saint Martin's University