NCJ Number
231368
Journal
Journal of Quantitative Criminology Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2010 Pages: 269-300
Date Published
June 2010
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This study examined the impact of first-time imprisonment on the likelihood of marriage and divorce for offenders.
Abstract
Marriage has a prominent place in criminological theory and research as one institution that has the potential to genuinely foster desistance from a criminal career. Mass imprisonment policies in the United States and elsewhere, therefore, pose a potential threat of increased crime if they impede the ability of ex-prisoners to reintegrate into society by stigmatizing them and limiting their chances in the marriage market. The authors use a long-term study of a conviction cohort in The Netherlands to ascertain the effect that first-time imprisonment has on the likelihood of marriage and divorce. The results suggest that the effect of imprisonment on the likelihood of marriage (among unmarried offenders) is largely a selection artifact, although there is very weak evidence for a short-lived impact that does not persist past the first year post-release. This is interpreted as a residual incapacitation effect. On the other hand, the results strongly suggest that the experience of incarceration leads to a substantially higher divorce risk among offenders who are married when they enter prison. Figures, tables, appendixes, and references (Published Abstract)