NCJ Number
206067
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 29 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring 2004 Pages: 46-75
Editor(s)
Michael S. Vaughn
Date Published
2004
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study examined the effect of social bonds on offenders’ successful adjustment to probation by focusing on the quality of the social relationships with family and friends, measuring the social bonds received after entry to probation, utilizing a highly stigmatized offender population to create a more rigorous test of the effect of social bonds, and using an event history analysis to examine the effects of social bonds on the time to failure or an unsuccessful adjustment.
Abstract
Previous research had indicated that social bonds were a significant predictor of successful probation outcomes. However, recent research has provided inconsistent findings of social bonds as a significant predictor of outcomes. The objective of this U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice study was to examine the effect of social bonds on offenders’ successful adjustment to probation. The analysis was limited to child molesters, in order to place the focus on an offender population that is thought to have durable criminal propensities and an offense that maximizes the physical and social estrangement from society. Existing social bonds may be weakened or destroyed, and new social bonds were likely to be slow in forming. To test the hypothesis that social bonds would significantly affect successful adjustment to probation supervision, the study used measures of employment and the quality of social relationships with family and friends. The study sample consisted of 258 adult males who entered probation, under the Maricopa County, Arizona Adult Probation Department during the 30-month period between January 1997 and June 1999. The analysis of child molesters provided strong and consistent support for the hypothesis that social bonds affect the offender’s adjustment to probation during the first 3 years of supervision. Probationers who were employed full-time experienced a long time to a revocation petition and a longer time to an unsuccessful termination from probation. This was also observed among probationers who had the positive support of family. Full-time employment was found to have a significant effect only on the time to unsuccessful termination, but support of family and friends was found to affect both the time to a revocation petition and the time to an unsuccessful termination. Study limitations and implications are presented and discussed. Figures, tables, and references