Institutional Castling: Military Enlistment and Mass Incarceration in the United States

Abstract

brya n l. sy k es a nd a m y k ate ba Iley The military is a major state provider of employment, occupational training, and educational subsidies. Yet military downsizing and its increased selectivity during penal expansion may have cleaved off employment opportunities for disadvantaged men. We show how institutional castling-the shifting prominence of competing institutions in the lives of specific demographic groups-has affected the underlying risk of military employment and penal confinement. Black veterans who have dropped out of high school are less likely to be incarcerated than their nonveteran counterparts, and declines in the employment rates of military servicemembers with less than a high school education are associated with large increases in incarceration rates. The military's critical role in providing institutional protection from the penal system has eroded for young, undereducated African American men.

Movin’ On Up? The Role of Growing Up Rural in Shaping Why Working-Class Men Do—and Don’t—Seek to Improve Their Labor-Market Prospects

“…An overlooked mobility measure, especially among minority, working-class, and rural men, is joining the military (Butler and Moskos 1996; G r o W i n G u p r u r a l r s f : t h e r u s s e l l s a g e f o u n d a t i o n j o u r n a l o f t h e s o c i a l s c i e n c e s Kleykamp 2006;Silva 2013;Sykes and Bailey 2020;Woodward 2000). The role of military service as a geographic mobility strategy deserves particular attention in rural context, given that rural youth enroll in military service at higher rates than their urban counterparts (Kane 2005;O'Hare and Bishop 2006), and past work has highlighted how rural and military masculinities overlap and reinforce one another (Woodward 2000).…”

Consistent Honor, Persistent Disadvantage: American Indian and Alaska Native Veteran Health in the National Survey of Veterans

“…The military is a large federal provider of employment, occupational training, and educational opportunities; post-service benefits, military experience, socialization, and training are expected to generally positively impact civilian socioeconomic attainment ( Sykes & Bailey, 2020 ). With significant variations by service era and by race and ethnicity, veterans have been shown to have a socioeconomic status advantage over nonveterans ( Sampson & Laub, 1996 ; Teachman & Call, 1996 ; Teachman & Tedrow, 2004 , 2007 ; Teachman & Tedrow, 2004 , 2007 ).…”

Continuity of Offending in Young Adulthood: A Test of Moffitt’s Snares Hypothesis

“…Marriage and military service are strongly associated with within-individual reductions in offending and desistance (Laub & Sampson, 2003; Warr, 1998). And prior research suggests that life events—such as drug and alcohol abuse, criminal justice contact, and lower educational and job attainment—reduce the likelihood that individuals enter into marriages or enlist in the military (Huebner, 2007; Sykes & Bailey, 2020). In terms of harming health, snare exposure may increase the likelihood that individuals suffer from disease and illness.…”