Citation

Pettus-Davis C, Doherty EE, Veeh C, Drymon C. Crim. Justice Behav. 2017; 44(10): 1317-1339.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0093854817721936

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

More than 2.5 million emerging adults (ages 18-25) are incarcerated annually and most do poorly after release. Social support after an individual's release from incarceration is a critical protective factor against recidivism for emerging adults. However, little is known about the stability of support for emerging adults post incarceration. This study uses hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to examine whether social support declines over time after incarceration and how change in support may vary by incarceration length. Our findings show that, while a nonincarcerated group of justice-involved emerging adults experience relatively stable social support, there are negative and volatile effects of social support among their incarcerated counterparts. Moreover, longer incarceration stays are related to greater deterioration of support over time after community reentry for emerging adults. Study findings advance the field of postincarceration intervention development by responding to the challenge of determining the appropriate targets and length of interventions designed for emerging adults.

Language: en