Inequality of access to Social Support and Social Capital after incarceration

• In Event: Empirical Advances in Critical Criminology

Abstract

In the world’s largest prison system, access to systems of social support and social capital after incarceration is not guaranteed. Yet access to these support resources have important societal ramifications insofar as research indicates they play a crucial role in the successful reintegration of formerly incarcerated persons. In this qualitative study, a sample of formerly-incarcerated adults from the United States discuss their experiences engaging with systems of support and supportive social networks upon reentry. Those with privilege often smoothly transitioned into pre-structured systems of support. Conversely, those with greater intersectional struggles before incarceration often struggled to access helpful forms of social support and capital, and attempted to creatively build their own resources, to varying degrees of success.

Authors

• Grant Tietjen, University of Washington Tacoma

• Nicholas Park, Gavilan College