Effects of Prison and Jail Confinement on Marital Dissolution

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

Abstract

Incarceration has well-documented effects on family structure by changing the timing and lifetime prevalence of divorce among currently and formerly incarcerated individuals. Prior work has proposed several potential explanations, including spousal separation during incarceration, post-release social stigma and economic strain, and relationship stressors such as domestic violence and extramarital affairs. We exploit differences in conditions of confinement (including the patterning and length of prison and jail incarceration) as well as differences in post-release wages and relationship violence among formerly jailed and imprisoned individuals to assess the significance of physical separation versus social stigma versus relationship stressors as drivers of marital dissolution during and after incarceration. In so doing, we provide insight into the potentially different mechanisms through which prison and jail incarceration shape the structure of American family life.

Author

• Martin Eiermann, Duke University