The Effects of Prison and Jail Incarceration on Health Limitations

• In Event: Comparative Risks of Jail and Prison Incarceration and Their Consequences

Abstract

Previous research indicates that prior incarceration increases the likelihood of severe functional limitations (Schnittker and John 2007), yet it is unclear whether prison or jail incarceration is driving this finding. We use person and sibling-by-time fixed-effects logistic regression models to estimate the relative effects of jail and prison incarceration on functional limitations. We also use random-effects models to examine mediating factors, and to probe whether experiencing incarceration contributes to racial disparities in functional limitations once jail and prison incarceration are disaggregated.

Author

• Alexandra Gibbons, Harvard University