The Effects of Incarceration on Longitudinal Trajectories of Employment

Abstract

Life-course theories expect imprisonment to negatively influence a person's employment prospects. Incarceration not only instantaneously interrupts a number of life-course domains but may also reduce future opportunities to reconnect to them. This article analyzes the effects of incarceration on employment by using observational data on the employment careers from age 23 up to age 32 in 270 high-risk males. All men had been treated for delinquency and problematic behavior in a juvenile justice institution in the Netherlands. First, we investigate whether specific employment trajectories can be distinguished within the overall employment pattern in this sample. Second, controlling for selection into both incarceration and low-employment participation, we investigate the effect of incarceration on future employment over and above the effect of being convicted.

Criminal History and Adverse Childhood Experiences in Relation to Recidivism and Social Functioning in Multi-problem Young Adults

“…In turn, this possibly resulted in limited employment opportunities. According to previous research, the experience of imprisonment complicates graduation or finding employment (Bullis & Yovanoff, 2002;Van der Geest et al, 2016). Another explanation might be possible stigmatization during the job application process as a result of past convictions or imprisonment (Decker et al, 2015).…”

“…Adolescentlimited offending is common and generally considered to be a normative response to the social context of an adolescent, whereas life course persistent offending is more rare and often related to experienced family adversities, inadequate parenting, neurocognitive problems, and temperament and behavior problems (Moffitt & Caspi, 2001). According to previous studies, youth who commit frequent and serious crimes in adolescence tend to be less successful later in life than non-offending youth: They are frequently engaged in multiple types of crimes during young adulthood (Piquero et al, 2012) and experience difficulty in finishing school and finding employment (Bullis & Yovanoff, 2002;Van der Geest et al, 2016). In turn, this relates negatively to quality of life (QoL) in young adulthood (Lanctôt et al, 2007).…”

“…Not surprisingly, both elaborate criminal history and ACEs are highly prevalent in multiproblem youth (Van Duin et al, 2017. These vulnerable youth experience more difficulties to succeed in community integration in young adulthood than other youth, regarding participating in employment, attending education, generating a stable income (Metzler et al, 2017;Scales et al, 2016;Van der Geest et al, 2016;Van Hazebroek et al, 2019), or finding independent housing (Osgood et al, 2010). Such failure complicates their development in becoming self-sufficient and well-functioning adults (Collins, 2001;Osgood et al, 2005Osgood et al, , 2010Scales et al, 2016), and negatively relates to their perceived QoL (Nevarez-Flores et al, 2019).…”

El estigma de los antecedentes penales en el mundo laboral. Un estudio experimental

“…Las personas que han pasado por el sistema penal tienden a encontrarse en una situación de precariedad en el mundo laboral. La investigación internacional ha observado de forma consistente una asociación entre una condena y unos salarios relativamente bajos y una gran inestabilidad laboral (Apel & Sweeten, 2010;van der Geest, Bijleveld, Blokland, & Nagin, 2016;Visher & Kachnowsi, 2007). Esta asociación también se ha constatado en España (Alós-Moner et al, 2011;Cid & Martí, 2012;Ríos & Cabrera, 1998).…”

“…En los últimos años ha vuelto a adquirir relevancia la posibilidad de que la precariedad laboral de las personas condenadas se explique, en parte, por el estigma de Rovira los antecedentes penales (Bushway, 1998;Nagin & Waldfogel, 1995;Pager, 2007;Uggen, Manza, & Thompson, 2006;van der Geest et al, 2016;Verbruggen, 2016;Western, 2002). Por un lado, se ha señalado la existencia de diferentes leyes que dificultan la inserción laboral de las personas que han sido condenadas con anterioridad (Mauer & Chesney Lind, 2003).…”