From Cellblock to Community: A Longitudinal Analysis of Inmate Social Networks during Community Re-Entry

• In Event: Emergent Research on Inmate Social Networks

Abstract

While the research on prisoner re-entry has shown how social relationships impact inmates while they are incarcerated or after they are released, the role that social relationships play in the linkage between these two domains—the longitudinal pathway from prison to community—remains unclear. In order to better understand how the structure and content of inmate social relationships influence the re-entry process, the current research uses social network data from a housing block of a medium-security men’s prison and longitudinal egocentric network data collected from inmates at multiple points in time as they transition out of this unit and return to the community. A few months before their release date, inmates completed a personal network survey detailing who they expected to be in regular contact with during the first three months after their release, characteristics of each person, and the relationships among each person. Drawing on ideas from social capital theory and differential association, inmates’ anticipated future networks are evaluated in relation to their potential resources and criminogenic influences. These “expected” networks are reviewed in relation to the inmate’s position in the greater prison network, and are compared against actualized networks measured during the first few months after release.

Author

• Corey Whichard, Pennsylvania State University