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Normalization and Legitimation: Modeling Stigmatizing Attitudes Toward Ex-Offenders
Abstract
Successful community reentry and the criminological impact of incarceration may depend in part on the attitudes (and consequent reactions) that prisoners encounter after release. Theories of social stigma suggest that such attitudes depend, in turn, on the levels of familiarity with the stigmatized group (the normalization thesis) as well as on the credibility and trust they accord to sanctioning agents (the legitimation thesis). To assess these two hypotheses, we present the first multivariate analysis of public attitudes toward ex-offenders. Data from a four-state, random-digit telephone survey of more than 2,000 individuals indicate that, net of controls, personal familiarity with ex-offenders may soften attitudes, whereas confidence in the courts may harden them. As expected, non-Hispanic Whites, conservatives, and southern residents hold more negative views of ex-offenders. Our findings lend indirect support to concerns that incarceration is becoming " normalized" , and we suggest strategies for reducing the stigma of incarceration.
... These extant narratives about good and evil in psychological literature should be integrated with criminological work on stigmatizing attitudes toward people who engage in crime, which incorporate various person-centered moral judgments about those who engage in crime and which may drive a host of criminal justice policy preferences (e.g. Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010;Shi et al., 2022). Importantly, stigmatizing attitudes toward people who engage in crime may reflect an expression of belief in good-and-evil narratives broadly -a possibility suggested, but not yet fully explored, by existing studies. ...
... Stigmatizing attitudes may include the tendency to dehumanize people who engage in crime (e.g. Bastian et al., 2013); to perceive them as dangerous and untrustworthy (Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010); to attribute offending decisions to dispositional characteristics or defects in moral character (e.g. Pickett & Baker, 2014); and to desire social distance (e.g. ...
... To the extent that people perceive those who commit crimes as less human, more dangerous, more predisposed to offend, undesirable as members of law-abiding society, or 'unredeemable', they may believe harsh criminal justice practices are more deserved and that rehabilitative policies (particularly those with a focus on reintegration) are unnecessary or impractical (e.g. Bastian et al., 2013;Burton et al., 2020;Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010;Pickett & Baker, 2014;Shi et al., 2022;. ...
Characterizations of offenders as 'evil' appear in popular entertainment, political rhetoric, and scholarship and may be rooted in widely endorsed cultural narratives. Integrating psychological and criminological literatures, we argue that endorsement of good-and-evil myths may be associated with criminal justice policy support via stigmatizing attitudes about those who engage in crime. We partially tested these hypotheses in a preliminary study using an online convenience sample (recruited using Amazon MTurk in 2015), then tested the full theoretical model using more comprehensive measures in a survey of American adults conducted via Qualtrics Panel in 2021 (N = 1,162). We found that both belief in evil (i.e. belief in evil forces) and belief in redemptive violence (i.e. belief in a clash between good and evil) were positively associated with punitive policy support, and stigmatizing attitudes partially mediated the effects of both. While belief in redemptive violence was negatively associated with rehabilitative policy support and stigmatizing attitudes mediated that relationship, belief in evil was not associated with support for rehabilitation. We consider the implications of our findings for mitigating the harms of public stigma and punitive criminal justice policy.
... The public generally perceives people with criminal records negatively (Hirschfield and Piquero 2010;A. Leverentz 2011;Rade, Desmarais, and Mitchell 2016). ...
... Leverentz 2011;Rade, Desmarais, and Mitchell 2016). They tend to perceive individuals with criminal records as dangerous and dishonest people who should be feared and avoided (Harding 2003;Hirschfield and Piquero 2010;Western, Kling, and Weiman 2001). Several studies have highlighted that being in a relationship with incarcerated and/or formerly incarcerated people could lead to adverse outcomes, including ongoing social, emotional, and economic instability (Comfort 2009;Grinstead et al. 2008;Hannem 2019;Russell 2020). ...
... Identifying demographic factors associated with romantic (dis)interest in someone with a conviction can help understand how stigmatizing attitudes are influenced by aspects of one's identity. People's attitudes towards individuals with criminal stigma have been explored by various scholars (Hirschfield and Piquero 2010;A. Leverentz 2011;Rade, Desmarais, and Mitchell 2016). ...
... Thus, having a residence not only facilitates successful reentry but also reduces recidivism [10,25,28]. Another strategy that has been demonstrated to reduce recidivism is the mentorship of formerly incarcerated persons through "professional ex-" programs, helper/wounded healer models, and mutual aid groups [9,[32][33][34]. All of the models above take a strengthbased approach which concentrates on the assets that the formerly incarcerated already have to achieve community reintegration [6,32,35,36]. ...
... Under a strengths-based approach, people learn to advocate for themselves by recognizing that they are of value and they can be beneficial to society [6,37]. Often, clients are employed by the same organization that provides them with housing; they often engage in a program where they practice helping others, contributing to their neighborhoods, and reducing crime by being part of the solution and not the problem [34]. ...
... It is important to discuss some of the limitations of the above studies. Firstly, most studies are case studies, focusing on particular populations or regions [3,21,34]. Because many studies have primarily focused on examining the sociopolitical characteristics of communities selected for housing facilities for the formerly incarcerated, they have overlooked zoning factors that may contribute to NIMBY opposition [14,42,43]. ...
Given the housing issues that people who have been in prison face, this article examines the permitting process to operate a vocational and life skills training program for the formerly incarcerated in Salt Lake City, UT, called The Other Side Academy (TOSA). This article employs participant observation, personal and public meeting conversations, planning division staff reports, public comments, and newspaper articles to answer the following question: How was TOSA described in the public input process for a conditional use permit? The author examines how TOSA neighbors first opposed the project and then came to support it. But even with community support, planning staff struggled to find a zoning code that would allow TOSA operations. In the end, the final decision to approve the conditional use permit came to the hearing officer, who sided in favor of TOSA. In this case, planners can learn about the zoning obstacles that reentry housing faces and how those obstacles can be overcome. Finally, academia and planning divisions need to better educate planners involved in administrative process into understanding the intent of the code to achieve just outcomes.
... When considering who to hire for a job, who to loan money to, or who to rent to, attention may be given to whether someone has committed a crime or served a sentence in a secure facility (i.e., jail/prison). As a society, we tend to believe those who have served time are "dangerous," "dishonest," or even "less moral/ethical" than those who have not (Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010;Pager, 2003;Reynolds et al., 2013). Although research has assessed willingness to pay for rehabilitative services (Baker et al., 2016;Jones & Weatherburn, 2011), support for rehabilitative reform/policies (Atkin-Plunk, 2020; Burton et al., 2020a;Johnston & Wozniak, 2021;Thielo et al., 2016;Wozniak, 2020a), and general views of rehabilitation and redeemability (Applegate et al., 1997;Burton et al., 2020b;Cullen et al., 2000;Maruna & King, 2009;Mears et al., 2013;Nagin et al., 2006), few studies (Hughes et al., 2021;Ouellette et al., 2017) have explicitly focused on the capacity to be rehabilitated or the willingness of the public to interact in settings with justice-involved individuals. ...
... For example, sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., age, sex, income) have been linked to rehabilitative and punitive beliefs (Applegate et al., 2002;Garland et al., 2016;Maruna & King, 2009;Payne et al., 2004). Women and those with higher levels of education and income tend to be more supportive of rehabilitative policies and rehabilitation in general (Applegate et al., 2002;Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010;Mancini et al., 2010). Literature also highlights differences across political views (Applegate et al., 2009;Garland et al., 2012) and racial resentment (Brown & Socia, 2017;Wozniak, 2020b) for public opinion on rehabilitative reforms. ...
... Literature also highlights differences across political views (Applegate et al., 2009;Garland et al., 2012) and racial resentment (Brown & Socia, 2017;Wozniak, 2020b) for public opinion on rehabilitative reforms. Members of the public who are more racially resentful or conservative are less likely to support rehabilitative policies or reforms (Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010;Mears et al., 2015;Pickett et al., 2014). ...
In the era of increasing support for rehabilitation, an often-overlooked question is how the public recognizes when someone is rehabilitated. The current study uses experimentally designed case files (n = 2,178) in an online opt-in survey to tap into which types of justice-involved individuals are more likely to be considered as being rehabilitated by the public. Furthermore, we examine the robustness of this effect using multiple situational contexts (e.g., hiring this individual, having them as a neighbor, spending time with children). Findings suggest three key features for recognizing who and when someone is rehabilitated, which have practical implications for reentry.
... A review of past studies on the stigma facing ex-offenders reveals various reasons why organisations have stigmatised ex-offenders. First and foremost, the label "ex-offender" itself sounds threatening (Hirschfield and Piquero, 2010), portraying ex-offenders as dangerous, untrustworthy, unreliable and dishonest (Brewer, 2017;Gaubatz, 1995;Young, 1999), as well as making conventional society liable to disown them. Next, hiring such individuals is considered a major risk by organisations as the ex-offender would represent the organisation's image and pose a possible risk to the current employees and productivity (Jung, 2015), not to mention their potential to commit further crimes (Leverentz, 2011). ...
... It is more likely that organisations will hire ex-offenders after exposure to them (Obatusin and Ritter-Williams, 2019;Young and Powell, 2015). Through such interactions, organisations exhibit less prejudice towards hiring ex-offenders (Hirschfield and Piquero, 2010). Active interaction with ex-offenders reduces an organisation's tendency to experience the fear that ex-offenders will commit further crime (Giguere and Dundes, 2002). ...
... Attitude plays a critical role in influencing hiring managers' decisions to rehire ex-offenders. In previous literature, it has been strongly argued that social stigma is a significant hindrance for ex-offenders to secure employment (Hirschfield and Piquero, 2010;Jung, 2015). Research by Ang et al. (2015), which is relatable to the context of this study, examined perspectives on hiring Malaysians with disabilities. ...
Purpose
Using the theory of Planned Behaviour as the basis, the study investigates the impact of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control on rehiring intention. The predictors of attitude (i.e. organisational culture, risk and government incentives) and perceived behavioural control (i.e. skills and supporting documents) were examined by expanding the TPB model.
Design/methodology/approach
A self-administered survey was used to gather data from Malaysian firms hiring ex-offenders. Partial Least Squares (PLS) structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to verify the study's proposed research model's hypothesis.
Findings
The SEM analysis showed attitude and subjective norm as solid predictors of rehiring intention. For attitude, organisational culture and government incentives were proven to have an impact. Besides perceived behavioural control, the skill set was a significant predictor.
Practical implications
This study suggests that active involvement of the government to engage employers with ex-offenders through incentives (tax deductions and wage and training subsidies) and prison job fairs can increase their employment opportunities. There is also a need for formal guidelines and practices on hiring ex-offenders in organisations to promote a positive hiring culture. Establishing an employment-based re-entry unit that provides ex-offenders with various transition skill programs, such as technical skills, job search skills and life skills, is crucial for their employment prospects.
Originality/value
This study is among the pioneers in investigating ex-offenders’ rehiring agenda, specifically examining factors that influence employers' decision making. The results are relevant to managers, regulators, institutions and NGOs to structure the right interventions to ensure ex-offenders are successfully hired. It is found that Interventions aiming to increase job opportunities for ex-offenders require activities that expand community and ex-offender engagement since it reduces the social stigma and promotes more ex-offenders accepting behaviour.
... Although there is widespread consensus that post-incarceration stigma exists, few studies have directly examined how the general public perceives formerly incarcerated individuals (e.g., Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010;Rade et al., 2016). Most of the previous research examining public attitudes towards people with criminal records has relied on questionnaires, assessing respondents' attitudes with hypothetical housing or employment scenarios and varying offender profiles. ...
... This previous research also neglected to examine how certain correlates (e.g., age, gender, victimization, education) affect community attitudes towards people with criminal records. Hirschfield and Piquero (2010) address these limitations with a more recent study, conducted in four states with a large-scale and ethnically diverse sample, which found that the largest predictors for people's stigmatizing attitudes towards returning citizens were not knowing anybody who had been incarcerated and trusting the judgement of courts. Similarly, Rade et al. (2016) revealed in their meta-analysis that a more conservative political ideology and a lack of previous contact with ex-offenders emerged as significant correlates of negative public attitudes toward individuals with criminal records. ...
... Clear et al. (2001) and Helfgott (1997) found in their studies that non-criminal neighbors feared returning citizens, preferred not to interact with them, and perceived them as suspicious. This discrepancy-supporting rehabilitation and believing in redeemability for some people with criminal records while, at the same time, holding negative stereotypes towards the majority of returning citizens-is also discussed by Hirschfield and Piquero (2010) who argue that, "positive attitudes toward rehabilitation do not necessarily signal positive attitudes toward ex-offenders. One may embrace the principle of rehabilitation and still view most ex-offenders as dangerous or dishonest" (p. ...
Objectives
This study tests if the public overestimates the immoral behavior of formerly incarcerated people.
Methods
In a benchmark study with people on parole and people without a criminal record, participants played a game that allowed them to deceive their counterparts in order to make more money. A subsequent prediction study asked an online US-nationally representative sample to estimate how both groups played the game. By comparing the estimated likelihoods to the observed likelihoods of deception we examine if people correctly assess the deception rates of both groups.
Results
Both groups showed an equal propensity to deceive. In contrast, respondents from the online sample believed that people on parole would be much more likely to deceive than their counterparts.
Conclusions
The results suggest that the public holds stigmatizing attitudes towards formerly incarcerated people, which can be a detriment to successful reentry into their communities.
... In another example, primary care physicians reported greater stigmatizing attitudes towards patients with schizophrenia than those with depression and were less willing to treat patients with schizophrenia than those with depression (Lam et al., 2013). Likewise, studies have measured stigmatized attitudes using items that gauge desire for social distance from members of a stigmatized group (e.g., Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010;Link et al., 1999). Together, this suggests a diminished motivation to engage in prosocial behaviors such as compassion when stigmatizing attitudes are held regarding a suffering social group. ...
... In such a case, they are likely to adopt a greater inward focus on their own safety and are unlikely to engage in prosocial behaviors like compassion. Further, perceptions of dangerousness and lack of connections to members of stigmatized groups have been shown to increase stigma (Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010), suggesting that a cycle of a lack of compassion, social distancing, and stigmatization may be at work. ...
This study extends recent research on correlates of compassion for suffering social groups. Using a nationally representative sample of 627 U.S. adults, this study used cross-sectional survey data to determine if loneliness, the tendency for interpersonal victimhood, and stigmatizing attitudes held toward suffering social groups correlated with less compassion for suffering social groups. Participants were randomly assigned to respond in regard to one of three suffering social groups: adults who are addicted to opioids, unemployed adults who have been hurt by the rising prices of goods and services, or women who do not have access to reproductive health care in their area. Both main effects and interaction effects were hypothesized. Results showed significant main effects in which loneliness, stigmatizing attitudes held towards a suffering social group, and the tendency for interpersonal victimhood were negatively related to compassion felt for suffering social groups. Additional exploratory analyses showed that these main effects depended on the specific suffering social group. Whereas all three variables inhibited compassion for adults addicted to opioids, only loneliness and stigmatizing attitudes inhibited compassion for the unemployed, and only stigmatizing attitudes inhibited compassion for women lacking access to reproductive health care. These findings can be used to guide the development of future interventions that may address issues that inhibit compassion towards those who are suffering, particularly those in suffering social groups that are stigmatized.
... There is significantly less research on the stigma of individuals with criminal justice involvement, but we know they experience overlapping stereotypes with individuals who have a mental illness (West, Yanos, & Mulay, 2014). The most common stereotype driving stigma in those with criminal justice involvement is dangerousness, in addition to dishonesty (Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010). Nonetheless, members of the public demonstrate more negative attitudes towards individuals released from the criminal justice system who also have a mental illness compared to those released without a mental illness (LeBel, 2008). ...
... Individuals with mental illness and who have been charged with, or convicted of a criminal offense are often referred to as forensic patients. This group faces persistent public stigma as a result of the dual effect of having both a mental illness and criminal justice system involvement (Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010). Rao et al. (2009) was able to demonstrate in their vignette study that a hypothetical patient who had been admitted to a secure forensic hospital was subject to greater stigmatizing attitudes compared to a patient with schizophrenia admitted to a hospital after a brief psychotic episode. ...
Three studies examined the psychometric properties of a new scale, the Forensic Stigma Scale (FSS), designed to measure public stigma of forensic patients. In Study 1, the initial item pool was derived to measure three components of stigma (stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination). An EFA (n = 218) identified a two-factor model with 12 items. In Study 2, this two-factor solution was confirmed using CFA with a separate sample (n = 326) which had good-excellent fit indices. All 12 items loaded (> 0.40) on the two latent factors (Dangerousness/Unpredictability [7 items] and Responsibility/Blame [5 items]) identified in the EFA. In Study 3, using the combined samples from the previous two studies, the 12-item FSS showed promising internal consistency reliability (0.75–0.80) and demonstrated satisfactory-good criterion validity; the scale was moderately correlated with a similar construct and was able to differentiate individuals who did and did not have specific education on forensic psychology. IRT analyses demonstrated that both subscales had discrimination parameters in the moderate-high range (α = 1.03 to 2.54), though the threshold parameters (bi) on the Dangerousness/Unpredictability subscale showed better distribution across trait levels. Overall, the 12-item FSS demonstrates strong psychometric properties, especially the Dangerousness/Unpredictability subscale. The scale may provide clinical and empirical uses for measuring public stigma of forensic patients.
... This issue necessitates a multidisciplinary approach, drawing insights from criminal justice, psychology, social work, and public policy to effectively address the complexities involved in reintegrating individuals who have committed crimes back into society. For many years, rehabilitation efforts for ex-offenders were rooted in punitive measures, with a strong focus on punishment and deterrence (Hirschfield & Piquero 2010). However, in recent decades, there has been a shift toward more restorative justice practices that emphasize repairing the harm caused by crime, fostering accountability, and preparing offenders for their reintegration into society (Kausalya et al., 2021;Mpofu, Mkhize, & Akpan, Vol 14, Issue 4, (2024) E-ISSN: 2225 Over the years, rehabilitation models have shifted from traditional punitive approaches to more rehabilitative and restorative practices. ...
... According to this theory, people classify others as in-group or out-group members depending on their social group affiliation. Due to exprisoners' criminal records, they are often treated as out-group members and subject to public stigma (Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010;Rade, Desmarais & Mitchell, 2016). Since ex-prisoners generate stigmatizing beliefs, people who strongly identify with societal norms and remove themselves from the stigmatized out-group are more likely to dislike these enterprises. ...
Social enterprises provide an effective method for tackling various social problems, including ex-prisoners in the domains of rehabilitation, reintegration, and the reduction of repeat offenses. While this business model is prevalent in other countries, it remains uncommon in Malaysia. This study aims to uncover the issue from the public perspective. Specifically, the objective of this study is to investigate the effects of familiarity with social enterprise models, stigmatization, and incidental news exposure on public attitudes towards ex-prisoner-focused social enterprise. Underpinned by Mere Exposure Effect Theory, Social Identity Theory, and Media Framing Theory, five hypotheses were developed and tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling on 139 cases. Results showed that familiarity with social enterprise models, stigmatization, and incidental news exposure significantly predict attitudes towards ex-prisoner-focused social enterprise. However, the moderation role of familiarity with social enterprise models was not supported for the relationship between incidental news exposure and attitudes towards ex-prisoner-focused social enterprise, and when it interacts with stigmatization. These findings contribute to the understanding of how media exposure, social stigmatization, and personal familiarity shape public perceptions of social enterprises that focus on ex-prisoner rehabilitation. The study highlights the need for targeted strategies to reduce stigmatization and leverage incidental media exposure to foster more supportive attitudes towards social enterprises that assist ex-prisoners.
... In addition to legal restrictions that often deny employment opportunities to formerly incarcerated individuals (Hahn, 1991), research has found that employers are prejudiced when it comes to hiring someone with a criminal history (Pager, 2003(Pager, , 2009Pager & Quillian, 2005). Applicants with a criminal record are often viewed as being untrustworthy or dangerous, decreasing their likelihood of being hired (Ali et al., 2017;Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010;Pager et al., 2009). Recent research also suggests that certain credentials (e.g., relevant experience, education, or references) can signal a formerly incarcerated person's reliability and increase their likelihood of being hired (Santos et al., 2023). ...
Despite the aging of those in our prisons and the increasing numbers of older incarcerated individuals returning home, much of the research on reentry challenges focuses on the experiences of individuals under the age of 50. Using in-depth interviews with 19 formerly incarcerated individuals who were released after the age of 50, we examined their reentry experience , particularly in regards to finding employment. We found that while this population experienced barriers to finding a job that were similar to their younger counterparts (e.g., stigma, the lack of proper documentation, etc.), they also struggled to find employment due to age-related factors like deteriorating health, ageism, and digital illiteracy. The results from this study can help policymakers better prepare for and appropriately anticipate the needs of its older returning citizens , a group often left out of most reentry discussions.
... The Sun's reporting on prisons and prisoners also has more immediate practical implications. Research which has shown that successful community reintegration following time in prison is in part dependent upon the attitudes and reactions of the community (Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010). The representation of prisoners as beyond redemption could negatively impact the reintegration process -a process which is an essential component of successful desistance (see e.g., Bell et al., 2021). ...
Whilst there is some research into the media’s coverage of the British penal system, little is conducted through the lens of social psychology. This study employs social representations theory in order to examine British tabloid newspaper The Sun’s contribution to the public understanding of prisons and prisoners from a psychological perspective. The data consists of 34 articles published within the month of March 2017 which were analysed using a modified version of Foucauldian discourse analysis. It was found that The Sun’s coverage of the penal system contributed to a construction of prisons as both out of control and as providing prisoners with an easy life, and a construction of prisoners as both inherently dangerous and undeserving. These constructions contribute to a social representation of prisoners as ‘beyond redemption’. The implications of these findings are considered in light of the subject positions offered and the opportunities for action provided.
... Consequently, criminals are one of the select populations whereby people generally feel it is socially acceptable to dislike and have openly prejudiced and dehumanizing attitudes toward (Crandall et al., 2002;Kelman, 1973;Vasiljevic & Viki, 2014). Extensive research posits that the presence of a criminal record conveys that a person is dangerous, risky, and untrustworthy (Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010), and further, that these associations persist after release (Campbell & Denov, 2004). Corroborating this, previous criminal offenders are systematically marginalized, either temporarily, or permanently, through restrictions on voting rights, housing, financial aid, employment, and additional components of community involvement (Pogorzelski et al., 2005). ...
The accurate perception of others’ pain is a prerequisite to provide needed support. However, social pain perception is prone to biases. Multiple characteristics of individuals bias both physical and social pain judgments (e.g., ethnicity and facial structure). The current work extends this research to a chronically stigmatized population: released prisoners (i.e., releasees). Recognizing the large United States releasee rates and the significant role support plays in successful re-integration, we conducted four studies testing whether people have biased judgments of White male releasees’ sensitivity to social pain. Compared with the noncriminally involved, people judged releasees as less sensitive to social pain in otherwise identical situations (Studies 1a–3), an effect that was mediated by perceived life hardship (Study 2). Finally, judging releasees’ as relatively insensitive to social pain undermined perceivers’ social support judgments (Study 3). The downstream consequences of these findings on re-integration success are discussed.
... [3][4][5] On the other hand, in terms of the offences committed, violent behavior was found to negatively affect public perception and serve as an important stigmatizing factor, 6 mainly associated with the development of the stereotypes of dangerousness and dishonesty. 7 The coexistence of both circumstances tends to generate more negative stereotypes towards mentally ill offenders when compared to non-mentally ill offenders, 8 while offenders with mental illness have been shown to elicit significantly more negative attitudes than control groups with neither a criminal history nor a mental illness. 9,10 Mentally ill inmates are even considered to be less predictable, rational, and understandable, but also more dangerous than other inmates without mental illness. ...
Mentally ill offenders constitute a group with a unique set of characteristics since they are doubly stigmatized by both their mental illness and the offence they have committed. The coexistence of these two circumstances significantly heightens negative public attitudes towards these people. The group of mentally ill offenders has been shown to elicit more stigmatic attitudes than offenders without a mental health condition. Nevertheless, research on stigma towards mentally ill offenders is rather limited, while the number of psychometric tools used to measure this stigma is even smaller compared to the number of relevant tools assessing mental illness stigma. The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes towards mentally ill offenders in a Greek sample in terms of demographic characteristics, and at the same time to assess the psychometric properties of a specialized tool on stigma towards this patient group, namely the Attitudes Towards Mentally Ill Offenders (ΑΤΜΙΟ) scale in Greek. The study included 1031 participants from the general population who completed an online questionnaire on sociodemographic data as well as the ATMIO scale. The scale's structural validity was tested on the basis of the exploratory factor analysis after Quartimax rotation, and the internal relevance of its factors recorded a Cronbach's alpha value of more than 0.7, both for the whole scale and its individual factors. It was shown that more negative stereotypes towards mentally ill offenders were correlated with less compassion and less desire for their rehabilitation, with stronger belief and conviction that they represent a danger to the community, with less diminished responsibility, and a lot fewer positive attitudes in general. Women, older people, individuals with a lower education level and participants with children were found to hold more negative attitudes. The ATMIO scale translated in Greek is the first tool to measure attitudes towards mentally ill offenders in the country and shows satisfactory internal consistency and interpretation of its four-factor structure. It is a comprehensible and easy-to-complete scale, which can become a reliable tool to record attitudes towards mentally ill offenders also in our country.
... While there is little prior research investigating the role of PE in WTH, there is even more limited research focusing on the mechanism through which PE may influence hiring decisions. Research in related areas suggest that social contact with stigmatized groups can help offset stigma (Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010), and that increased contact with those with a criminal history is associated with significantly lower levels of punitiveness towards them (Kottak & Kozaitis, 1999). In the case of employers, more social contact could decrease concerns about hiring this group, such as the fear of victimization (Giguere & Dundes, 2002), which could improve WTH. ...
Objectives: Employment is important for reentry, but remains a challenge for justice-involved individuals. Extant research has shown that employers' prior experience hiring individuals with a criminal record is a key predictor of their future behavior towards this group. This study expands this research by describing employers' prior experiences hiring a person with a criminal record, how it impacts their future hiring preferences, and whether managers' belief in redeemability impacts that association.
Methods: We used OLS regression, mediation, and moderation analysis on a sample of 620 hiring managers in the U.S.
Results: Most managers had previously hired someone with a criminal record (65.5%), most of whom reported good (41.6%) or excellent (11.3%) experiences. A positive prior experience and a high belief in redeemability are both strong predictors of a greater willingness to hire another person with a record. However, as the quality of prior experience improves, belief in redeemability becomes less important.
Conclusions: A positive experience with employees with a criminal record is the main predictor of future willingness to hire and can even offset the influence of pre-existing negative attitudes towards this group. Ensuring that managers who hire justice-involved individuals have excellent experiences is a strategy for expanding future opportunities.
... Persons stigmatized face derision from others as well as their own anticipation of stigma. The general public has mostly negative attitudes toward those with a criminal record, although Black and Hispanic persons, liberals, and urban residents tend to have softer attitudes toward people with convictions (Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010;Rade et al., 2016). These attitudes are magnified when crime-first language (e.g., offender, murderer, felon) is used instead of person-first language (e.g., person convicted of a violent offense) (Denver et al., 2017). ...
Prosocial relationships are beneficial to post-conviction reintegration, but criminal stigma may limit romantic relationship access. This study implements an experimental audit of speed dating, which allows people to meet several potential partners in a brief time, to explore how conviction disclosure, offense type, and attractiveness and personality ratings affect dating interest. Three women and three men confederates of different races/ethnicities were randomly assigned to a control or one of three offense conditions before interacting one-on-one with 64 participants in 4-minute Zoom Q&A speed dating sessions. Following each interaction, participants rated one another on attractiveness, personality dimensions, and interest in dating. Findings indicate that disclosure of property offense conviction significantly reduced women’s willingness to date men confederates while assault and drug convictions did not negatively affect women’s dating interest. Women confederate disclosures of convictions did not affect men’s interest in dating them. Researching the effects of prior convictions on romantic relationship interest is challenging but important in revealing how criminal stigma varies by offense type to affect relationship capital.
... One limitation of the current study is that the data is comprised of jail officers from only one state (Florida), and it is possible that attitudes toward rehabilitation could be a function of the location; southern residents generally have more negative and punitive attitudes toward individuals who are criminal justice involved (Chiricos et al., 2004;Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010). Because we utilized a convenience sample, the data may not be representative of those who did not complete the survey, all jail officers in Florida or jail officers generally. ...
There are few studies that focus on jail correctional officers’ views. We surveyed officers in thirteen Florida county jails and examine the impact of personal characteristics and officer attitudes on rehabilitation attitudes, as well as differences in rehabilitative attitudes across jails. Results indicate female, nonwhite, more religious, less conservative officers, and those more satisfied with their job were more likely to support rehabilitation, while those who preferred more social distance were less likely to. Results also reveal significant differences in support for rehabilitation between jails. This study confirms that findings regarding prison officers are consistent with those for jail officers.
... A prevalent perception of a criminal record is that it signals that a person is untrustworthy [38,39]. In recent research [40], Mikkelson and Schweitzer manipulated incarceration status, length of incarceration, time since release from prison, and measured perception of morality and hiring decisions. ...
This study seeks to better understand mechanisms of bias against formerly incarcerated and ethnically minoritized job applicants as well as the interactive effects of those two identities. In a sample of 358 hiring managers in the United States, the 2 (incarceration history) x 4 (ethnicity) experiment will manipulate incarceration history and ethnicity through job application materials, and measure hireability, and perception of job applicants along dimensions of sociability/warmth, competence, and morality. We will use a moderated mediation model to test hypotheses regarding a main effect of prior incarceration and an interaction effect of incarceration history and ethnicity on judgments of hireability, as well as whether such effects are mediated through perception of job applicants. We expect results to inform both research and practice related to employment practices.
... Because a criminal record is considered "deeply discrediting" (Goffman, 1963, p. 4) and conveys that a person is dangerous, risky, and untrustworthy (Hirschfield & Piquero, 2010), formerly incarcerated individuals are released from prison carrying the stigma of being a "criminal" (Campbell & Denov, 2004). In fact, individuals who violate social norms, such as those who engage in criminal behavior, are chronically stigmatized and are considered society's most reviled group (Crandall et al., 2002). ...
Researchers posit that stigma-by-association may account for the
discrimination that exonerees experience post-release. Exonerees who serve a longer prison sentence may experience more stigma than exonerees who spent less time in prison. Across two studies, we
examined whether criminal history (exoneree, releasee, control) or
prison time (5 or 25 years) impacted landlords’ willingness to rent their
apartment. Authors responded to apartment listings in the Greater
Toronto Area inquiring about availability. The rental inquiries were
identical apart from criminal history and prison time. Across both
studies, results demonstrated that landlords were significantly less likely
to respond, and indicate availability, to exonerees and releasees
compared to control. Landlords discriminated against exonerees when
the exoneree did not mention a formal exoneration (Study 1) and
explicitly mentioned that he was exonerated by DNA evidence (Study 2).
Prison time had no significant impact. A content analysis of landlords’
replies revealed that exonerees and releasees experienced more subtle
forms of discrimination compared to individuals without a criminal
history. Together, our results demonstrate that individuals who were
formerly incarcerated and associated with prison – whether it be for 5
years or 25 years, or a rightful or wrongful conviction – experience housing discrimination post-release.
... replicated when health care practitioners are provided with mock files about patients in criminal labelling vs. control conditions and asked to write a prescription to alleviate the patients' pain. There is evidence that those who have personal familiarity with exoffenders have less punitive attitudes towards individuals with a history of criminality (Hirschfield and Piquero, 2010;Johnson et al., 2007), likely because personal contact enhances individuation and reduces out-group processes. Hence, it is possible that our participants may have been more negatively influenced by criminality labelling as compared to healthcare providers working in facilities near detention centers. ...
Disparities in healthcare for underrepresented and stigmatized groups are well documented. Current understanding is that these inequalities arise, at least in part, from psychosocial factors such as stereotypes and in-group/out-group categorization. Pain management, perhaps because of the subjective nature of pain, is one area of research that has spearheaded these efforts. We investigated how observers react to the pain of individuals labelled as criminals. Face models expressing pain of different levels of intensity were portrayed as having committed a crime or not (control group). A sample of n = 327 college students were asked to estimate the intensity of the pain expressed by face models as well as their willingness to help them. Trait empathy was also measured. Data was analyzed using regression, mediation and moderation analyses. We show for the first time that observers were less willing to help individuals with a criminal history. Moreover, a moderation effect was observed whereby empathic participants were more willing to help controlled face models compared to less empathic participants. However, criminality history did not influence participant's pain estimation. We conclude that negative stereotypes associated with criminality can reduce willingness to help individuals in pain even when pain signals are accurately perceived.
... Benson et al. (2011) also found a negative relationship between African American and Hispanic race or ethnicity and reintegration highlighting the difficulties African American face in successfully reintegrating post-contact with the criminal justice system (Alexander, 2010;Uggen et al., 2002). This finding supports Hirschfield and Piquero's (2010) research which found that although there is difficulty repairing close relationships, family and friends have fewer stigmatizing views about persons with a criminal record than persons with no relationship to such persons. ...
As the prison population grays, so too does the people leaving prison. In New Jersey and New York, 35% and 26% of people on parole are over the age of 50 respectively. While older persons have lower recidivism rates compared to younger persons, there are physical, mental, and societal challenges that come with advancing age that can make reentry and reintegration a particularly difficult experience compared to younger persons. The aim of this dissertation is to explore the experiences of older adults on parole and the parole officers that assist them in their reentry and reintegration.
This study is unique in that it is the first known study that looks at differences in redeemability and reintegration based on age. Additionally, this study uses sociological perspectives that are under-utilized when studying the correctional, but more specifically, the paroled population. Maruna (2001) and O’Sullivan’s (2018) Belief in Redeemability, and Braithwaite’s (1989) Reintegrative Shaming and Wolff and Draine (2004), Smith & Hattery (2011) and Lin’s (2000) social capital theories will be used to address the following four research questions addressing persons on parole: (1) Do the needs of people leaving prison differ based on age? (2) Are there age-related differences in concerns regarding reintegration for people leaving prison? (3) Are there age-related differences in concerns regarding stigmatization for people leaving prison? (4) Are there age-related differences in finding meaning in life post incarceration? To understand parole officer perceptions of counseling older persons on parole Helfgott’s (1997) theory on social distance as well as parole officer decision-making theories will be used to answer the following two research questions: (1) Are parole officers’ experiences working with older persons on parole different than younger persons? (2) How do parole officers manage counseling and supervision of older persons on parole compared to younger persons?
This dissertation is, as far as the author knows, the first mixed methods examination of life on parole for older persons, and how their experiences differ from their younger cohorts. This mixed methods study will use qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis to understand the experiences of older person on parole from multiple angles including thematic and quantitative content analysis, descriptive analyses and chi-square analyses where appropriate. This study defines older person on parole as someone over the age of 50, and a younger person on parole as someone between the ages of 18-49 under parole supervision. This proposal investigates whether older persons on parole believe they can be successfully reintegrated into the community, considering their age, time served and health conditions that typically accompany older persons who have been impacted by the criminal justice system as it compares to younger persons on parole. Furthermore, this study aims to understand how older persons on parole find life satisfaction after prison and parole. Finally, this dissertation aims to understand how parole officers view older persons on parole and seeks to understand their perceptions of managing and counseling older persons on parole.
... Społeczeństwo nie akceptuje przestępców, w związku z czym wyklucza więźniów oraz osoby opuszczające zakłady karne. Dotychczasowe badania wykazały, że połowa osób kieruje się negatywnymi stereotypami dotyczącymi byłych więźniów (Hirschfield, Piquero 2010). Muszą oni zatem radzić sobie z konsekwencjami stygmatyzacji, m.in. ...
Abstract: The article draws attention to the existence of stigmatisation components in the way
social workers perceive former prisoners. The analyses take into consideration the context of
the possibility for social reintegration of persons who have experienced incarceration. The
article presents the outline of the stigmatisation pattern and the image of former prisoners in
social workers’ accounts. The article also raises the issues of the possibilities of changing social
workers’ perception of former prisoners, considered to be a prerequisite for their social
reintegration. Uninstructed interviews were used.
Most accounts presented by female social workers contained stigmatisation components
(although in various contexts and intensity) focussed on differentiating former prisoners from
the society and attributing undesirable characteristics to them that reflect the pre-formed
stereotypes. Labelling of former prisoners related to loss of status and to discrimination can
also be seen in the social workers’ accounts.
... If the crime committed is classified as significant, the employer's desire to hire will be harmed once the criminal record has been revealed. According to Piquero and Hirschfield (2010), the majority of the labelling received by these ex-offenders causes them to have a higher probability of relapsing into undesirable behaviour. The negative stigma will cause severe psychological stress on these individuals to have the will to rebuild a new life. ...
There is much support for hiring ex-offenders, but employers are unwilling to hire ex-offenders due to several reasons. In Malaysia, there is a paucity of research exploring employers' perceptions toward hiring ex-offenders. This qualitative study aimed to collect in-depth data from employers on their perception of hiring ex-offenders in Malaysia. In addition, the employers also stated their views on how support can be provided to the ex-offenders. This study was based on interpretivism philosophy, and an inductive approach was considered more appropriate. In this qualitative study, data in words and voice was collected from eight employers by using semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis was carried out to identify the themes that emerged from the collected data. The first question explored employers' perception of hiring ex-offenders, and the themes that emerged encompass rationale, perceived risk, the severity of crime, skills and knowledge and personal characteristics. The themes showed that hiring decisions are conditional. On the second question concerning the support, the three themes that emerged include fair treatment, mental support, and financial support. The study results provide an understanding to employers and HR managers on the perceptions of hiring ex-offenders into the workplace and providing support.
Forensic service users may face double stigma due to severe mental illness and a history of criminal offending. Professional stigma, involving stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors among mental healthcare professionals, can impede treatment and rehabilitation. Research on professional stigma, particularly toward forensic service users, is scarce. We explore relevant concepts of professional stigma using a Delphi consensus study and focus group. The Delphi study involved 98 experts across five panels (academics publishing about stigma or forensic mental healthcare, forensic and community mental healthcare professionals, and forensic service users), who evaluated the relevance of 85 stigma-related items on a 7-point Likert-scale. Consensus was reached on 26 items, including stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination, reflecting dangerousness, fear, recovery potential, and restrictions. The focus group, involving seven forensic service users, yielded experiences with professional stigma, including recovery pessimism, perceived dangerousness, devaluation through offenses, dismissive reactions, differential treatment, intrusive behavior, and restrictions. Our findings highlight the complexity of conceptualizing professional stigma and provide a foundation for developing an instrument to assess it. Future research will evaluate the psychometric properties of this instrument, which is essential for identifying and addressing stigma in forensic and community mental healthcare, ultimately improving care and rehabilitation outcomes for forensic service users.
Community service is a common court-ordered sanction in many countries. Individuals sentenced to community service must work a specified number of uncompensated hours at an approved community agency, typically as a condition of probation. A core expectation of court-ordered community service is that the community agencies benefit from this labor. However, very little research examines the organizational and interpersonal dynamics involved when community organizations work with court-ordered community service workers. What are local public and nonprofit organizations' experiences with court-ordered community service workers? How do the workers, themselves, experience court-ordered community service within community agencies? We address these questions through interviews with 31 volunteer managers and 34 court-ordered community service workers in two court jurisdictions in Northeast Georgia. We frame our findings within the volunteer management literature and suggest practices that could improve experiences for both the court-ordered community service worker and the community organization.
As incarceration rates rise globally, the need to reduce re-offending grows increasingly urgent. We investigate whether positive group bonds can improve behaviours among incarcerated people via a unique soccer-based prison intervention, the Twinning Project. We analyse effects of participation compared to a control group (study 1, n = 676, n = 1,874 control cases) and longitudinal patterns of social cohesion underlying these effects (study 2, n = 388) in the United Kingdom. We also explore desistance from crime after release (study 3, n = 249) in the United Kingdom and the United States. As law-abiding behaviour also requires a supportive receiving community, we assessed factors influencing willingness to employ formerly incarcerated people in online samples in the United Kingdom and the United States (studies 4–9, n = 1,797). Results indicate that social bonding relates to both improved behaviour within prison and increased willingness of receiving communities to support re-integration efforts. Harnessing the power of group identities both within prison and receiving communities can help to address the global incarceration crisis.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the recruitment practice of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Czech Republic to learn whether it encourages or discourages former offenders from attempting to attain work after release.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach was taken to understand the perspective of SME company owners and decision-makers within the Czech Republic. In all, 25 semi-structured interviews were conducted which examined the current recruitment practice and individual attitudes towards employing former offenders.
Findings
Through a change of employer perception, working with support agencies and amending recruitment practice, opportunities can be created for former offenders in the workplace to assist their rehabilitation. This would assist with overcoming employer attitudes which have little sense of responsibility to helping former offenders with reintegration through employment. Recruitment practices focus heavily on past accomplishments and the existence of a criminal record which can disincentivise former offenders from applying for work because of their stigmatised identity. Prior experience with offenders can lead to a change of attitude and offers a vector for changing employer attitudes. In combination with linkage to agencies which work with former offenders, small businesses could amend their recruitment practice and provide support for former offenders on their rehabilitation journey.
Research limitations/implications
This study is based on a limited sample size, only 25 responses, and the need for translation from English to Czech could have led to a loss of nuance in the responses gathered. With asynchronous interviews also being used, some brief responses limited the insight which could have been gained.
Practical implications
The findings of this study highlight areas of practice which can be amended to better attract former offenders, being future-focused rather than past-focused.
Social implications
Enhancing employment opportunities for former offenders would be a major enhancer for their reintegration efforts and lower the associated social costs to society.
Originality/value
Prior research has been conducted into the offender experience, with recruiter/owner receiving far less attention. Most prior studies have been quantitative in nature, with few using a qualitative approach.
Objective: People who have been wrongly incarcerated report exceptionally poor mental health, and despite having been exonerated, they face discrimination similar to other formerly incarcerated people when seeking housing and employment opportunities. The current audit study was designed to test whether exonerees likewise face discrimination when seeking mental health treatment. Hypotheses: Therapists will reply less often to treatment inquiries from exonerees and parolees compared to another prospective client with the same symptoms and trauma history—and when therapists do reply, they will less often be willing to meet with exonerated or paroled help seekers. Method: We emailed 752 therapists across the United States while posing as a man seeking therapy for the mental health symptoms most commonly reported by exonerees. By random assignment, this help seeker had been either incarcerated and paroled, wrongly incarcerated and exonerated, or working as a first responder (control). For each email, we noted whether the therapist replied and, if so, the speed and length of the reply. We also content analyzed all replies for predetermined themes, including willingness to meet. Results: Overall, therapists replied less often to exonerees (50.6%) than to first responders (62.9%) or parolees (61.1%), who did not differ (V = .11). Therapists’ replies also differed in their willingness to meet (V = .13), such that inquiries from first responders would more often result in a meeting with a therapist (31.7%) compared with inquiries from exonerees (19.6%) or parolees (21.0%). Conclusions: Exonerees’ staggering rates of mental illness may be compounded by lesser treatment access. Therapists’ reluctance to assist exonerees may reflect stigma and/or perceived incompetence. Our data highlight the need to destigmatize wrongful conviction, empower clinicians to treat exonerated clients, and advance legislation and other means to expand exonerees’ access to mental health care.
Suç işlemiş olan kişiye suçlu, işlediği suçtan dolayı hüküm giymiş ve tahliye edilmiş olan kişiye ise eski hükümlü adı verilir. Eski hükümlüler cezaevinden tahliye edildikten sonra ekonomik sorunlar, toplumsal yaşama uyum sağlayamama, sosyal dışlanma ve ayrımcılığa maruz kalma, psiko-sosyal problemler gibi pek çok sorunla karşı karşıya kalırlar. Eski hükümlülerin toplumsal hayaPa yaşadıkları bu sorunlara sinemada yer verilmektedir. Sinema, toplumsal sorunları tüm gerçekliğiyle ele alarak insanların farkındalığını ve bilinçliliğini arPırmakta etkili bir araçtır. Günümüzde daha fazla bireye daha hızlı bir şekilde ulaşan dijital platformların bu etkililik alanını arPırdığı söylenebilir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, toplumda dezavantajlı gruplardan biri olan eski hükümlülerin toplumsal yaşama yeniden katılma ve uyum sağlama sürecini nasıl deneyimlediklerini film aracılığıyla değerlendirmektir. Bu çalışmada önce sinemada daha sonra Netflix’te yayınlanan “The Unforgivable” adlı filmin başrol oyuncusu olan Ruth’un eski hükümlü bir birey olarak toplumsal yaşama yeniden katılma ve uyum sağlama pratiklerini içerendiyaloglar ele alınmıştır. Çalışmada toplumsal yaşama yeniden katılma ve uyum sağlama ile damgalanma kategorilerine ilişkin veriler nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden söylem analizi tekniği kullanılarak analiz edilmiş ve yorumlanmıştır. Çalışmanın sonucunda “The Unforgivable” filminden hareketle eski hükümlü olarak damgalanmanın toplumsal yaşama yeniden katılma ve uyum sağlama sürecini engellediği görülmektedir.
In this chapter, we use a human resource management lifecycle framework to discuss how bias toward those with criminal records manifests itself throughout employment processes. In highlighting the policies, practices, and procedures that act as barriers to applicants and employees with a criminal record during their careers, we help employers become aware of ways they can actively reduce employment obstacles for those with criminal records. We then focus on how applicants and employees with criminal records can aid in the potential reduction of bias they may face during their careers. Specifically, we discuss how individuals can use certain identity management strategies to combat potential biases from common HRM policies, practices, and procedures commonly found in U.S. workplaces. In providing bias reduction tactics from organizational and individual perspectives, our hope is that workplaces are improved such that employers are better equipped to improve workplace conditions for applicants and employees with this stigmatized non-visible identity.
Despite recent advancements in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) efforts, many groups remain excluded from consideration for employment, including those with criminal histories (Fuller et al., 2021). To that end, this study extends Stereotype Content Model (SCM) research to evaluate stereotypes about people with criminal histories, their perceived hireability, and the ways in which perceptions vary based on different offense histories. We examined the warmth and competence perceptions of various criminal-legal subgroups across two studies. In Study 1, we explored stereotypes related to individuals with various criminal histories using the framework outlined by the SCM; participants (n = 972) were asked to provide warmth and competence ratings of individuals belonging to various groups, including criminal history subgroups (e.g., misdemeanors, violent offenses). In Study 2, 173 individuals with hiring experience were asked to provide warmth, competence, and hireability ratings of job applicants with varying criminal histories. Findings revealed that the severity of warmth and competence ratings depend on the seriousness and frequency of one’s offense (Study 1) and that perceptions of hireability also differ depending on these characteristics (Study 2). We discuss our findings with an aim to inform both research and practice.
Despite the prevalence of criminal record checks, many U.S. companies do not have well-developed processes for judgments about the job-relatedness of convictions, potentially excluding qualified candidates as well as exposing companies to legal liability. We discuss how the literature on job-relatedness evidence might inform how to establish policies regarding criminal records evaluations in hiring. We offer practical recommendations within the legal context of EEOC guidelines and discuss needed research on this topic.
This chapter looks at the potential for former undergraduate students to become what we term ‘agents of Public Criminology’. Specifically, we interview graduates who took an Inside-Out module at Cardiff University. Inside-Out is a transformative education programme in which undergraduates learn alongside imprisoned learners. For Loader and Sparks, questions of ‘Public Criminology’ are those that bring criminological knowledge into public debate with the aim of achieving changes in attitudes, political discourses and, crucially, policy. The authors of this chapter, a former Outside Student and a former Inside-Out course leader, consider the potential for Inside-Out education to act as a form of public criminology. In order to evaluate how former students may or may not have come to act as agents of public criminology, we build on the idea that the course triggers a ‘ripple effect’ by which its impacts might emanate from the classroom into broader contexts (Pompa, Davis and Roswell (eds), Turning Teaching Inside Out, Springer, 2013).
The juvenile justice system can process youth in myriad ways. Youth who are formally processed, relative to being informally processed, may experience more public and harsh sanctions that label youth more negatively as “deviant.” Drawing on labeling theory, the current study evaluates the relative effect of formal justice system processing on the interpersonal dynamics of youth peer networks. Using data from the Crossroads Study, a multisite longitudinal sample of first‐time adolescent offenders, the current study applies augmented inverse probability weighting and generalized mixed‐effects models to estimate the effects of formal processing on friendship selection processes of homophily and withdrawal and considers whether these effects vary by race and ethnicity. Consistent with expectations of homophily, formally processed youth acquire more new deviant peers and fewer nondeviant peers during the 3 years after their initial processing decision compared with informally processed youth. The findings suggest no differences exist across processing types in withdrawal from friends. These effects were consistent across racial and ethnic groups. Ultimately, this study explores the dynamic interpersonal mechanisms associated with labeling theory and offers additional insight into the negative effects of formal processing.
Mentally ill offenders constitute a vulnerable population group with unique characteristics, and have endured multiple public stigmatizations, which has not been sufficiently studied. The purpose of this study was to capture attitudes of the public toward mentally ill offenders in relation to their perceptions of mental illness in general, as well as their degree of familiarity with it. Our sample of 2059 people can be overall described as a men preponderance, married, with mean value age of 26 years, higher educational level, and medium or higher socio-economic status. Participants completed the ATMIO, CAMI, and Familiarity scales online. The total familiarity index value with mental illness was found to be 4.88, which counts as moderate to low. It was also concluded that women and those with a high educational level sustained more positive attitudes toward mentally ill offenders. However, negative stereotypes (with a mean value of 26.20), stigmatizing attitudes related to risk in the community (mean 16.10), and reduced responsibility for actions (mean 9.45) were recorded, while some (mean 16.50) showed compassion and emphasized on the mentally ill need of rehabilitation. The youngest people were the ones who recorded the most absolute and harsh attitudes. These findings validate the need of raising awareness and informing, especially, the young public about issues of mental health, including the need to oppose prejudices with everyday measures, which can be accessible to the new generation. Besides, we should extend research to various professional groups that come in contact with mentally ill offenders in order to collect data, which could contribute for intervening policies and formulating different sets of strategies for those people.
Introduction:
The number of older prisoners with mental health issues released from prisons and forensic psychiatric institutions is rising. Their successful integration is important due to its implications for the public's safety and the individual's health and well-being. However, reintegration efforts are hampered due to the double stigma attached to 'mental illness' and 'incarceration history'. To alleviate the burden of such stigma, affected persons and their social networks employ stigma management strategies. This study sought to investigate the stigma management strategies of mental health professionals supporting older incarcerated adults with mental health issues in their reintegration process.
Methods:
Semi-structured interviews with 63 mental health professionals from Canada and Switzerland were carried out as part of the overall project. To address the reintegration topic, data from 18 interviews were used. Data analysis followed the thematic analysis approach.
Results:
Mental health professionals emphasized the double stigmatization of their patients which impaired their quest for housing. Lengthy searches for placement frequently resulted in patients' unnecessary long stays in forensic programs. Nevertheless, participants outlined that they were at times successful in finding appropriate housing for their patients due to the use of certain stigma management strategies. They stated that they, first, established initial contacts with outside institutions, second, educated them about stigmatizing labels and, third, provided ongoing collaboration with public institutions.
Discussion:
Incarcerated persons with mental health issues face double stigmatization that affects their reentry process. Our findings are interesting as they illustrate ways in which stigma can be reduced, and how the reentry process can be streamlined. Future research should include the perspectives of incarcerated adults with mental health issues to shed more light on the various options that they seek for successful reintegration after imprisonment.
Cet article propose à partir d’une littérature essentiellement nord-américaine une
application de la perspective de l’étiquetage au champ de l’exécution des
peines. Ces concepts permettent d’envisager cette perspective dans un
contexte interactionniste se situant davantage sur le plan des relations
interpersonnelles (les relations entre une institution et un individu dès
lors personnalisées) que sur le plan des relations entre la société et l’individu au sens large.
La première partie propose un retour sur la perspective théorique de l’étiquetage, présente ses révisions et définit l’hypothèse des caractéristiques de statut et les concepts précités ; la seconde partie propose une réflexion sur les liens entre ces caractéristiques de statut et les processus d’étiquetage en contexte d’exécution des peines, de leur prononcé par les juridictions à leur mise en œuvre par les professionnels. Ce travail soutient l’idée selon laquelle les processus d’étiquetage
habituellement associés à la phase policière et judiciaire sont également
présents durant la phase d’exécution des peines et qu’ils constituent des
entraves au processus de réhabilitation des personnes condamnées.
Background
People with substance use disorders (SUD) who have been involved in the legal system often experience stigma upon reentry into the community after incarceration. Although substance use treatment can sometimes be a source of stigma, it may also reduce stigma by facilitating connections with providers, reducing distress, or helping people feel more integrated in their community. However, research has rarely examined the potential for treatment to reduce stigma.
Methods
This study examined stigma experiences and the degree to which substance use treatment reduced stigma among 24 people with SUDs who were receiving care in an outpatient treatment facility after release from incarceration. Qualitative interviews were conducted and analyzed using a content analysis approach.
Results
Participants reported negative self-judgements as well as perceiving negative judgments from the community upon reentry. With regard to stigma reduction, themes emerged around substance use treatment repairing strained family relationships and reducing participants’ self-stigma. Aspects of treatment that reportedly reduced stigma included the treatment facility having a nonjudgmental atmosphere, patients trusting the staff, and working with peer navigators who had lived experience of SUD and incarceration.
Conclusions
Results from this study suggest that substance use treatment has the potential to decrease the negative impacts of stigma upon release from incarceration, which continues to be a major barrier. Though more research on stigma reduction is needed, we suggest some preliminary considerations for treatment programs and providers.
Research Summary
Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we estimated associations between adolescent–police contact and several measures of school absenteeism. Adolescents self‐reported absences due to health and due to truancy; police contact was linked to both. Youth reporting police contact were absent approximately 2.2 more days in total than those not reporting contact. Police contact was also associated with a 10 percentage point increase in the probability that absenteeism concerns precipitated a parent–teacher conversation.
Policy Implications
Extensive literature documents a “school to prison pipeline” in which aggressive school discipline exposes students to law enforcement. Less attention has been paid to how police contact outside of school shapes educational experiences. Recognizing and excusing absenteeism driven by police contact can provide students with flexibility needed to maintain educational progress. Such a policy may also signal to students stopped by police that school personnel can serve as sources of support and facilitate linkages to outside resources.
Criminological research is largely focused on understanding the causes, correlates, and pathways to criminal behavior and contact with the criminal justice system. An equally important issue that has received comparatively less attention is a focus on understanding the correlates and causes of abstinence from criminal behavior and contact with the criminal justice system. The current study was designed to analyze the potential protective and risk factors associated with having no contact with the criminal justice system – that is, abstaining from criminal justice system contact. To do so, the authors analyzed data drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). The results revealed that about 72 percent of respondents abstained from contact with the criminal justice system. Moreover, religion and intelligence were associated with increases in the odds of abstinence while low self-control, delinquent peers, and victimization were associated with reductions in the odds of abstinence for both males and females. We conclude by discussing the limitations of the study and directions for future research.
This article demonstrates the potential of small group laboratory research for attacking some of the theoretical and methodological problems currently confronting the societal-reaction perspective in the field of deviance. The results of small group research by Schachter, and Sampson and Brandon are reinterpreted within a conceptual framework derived from the societal-reaction literature. These two studies suggest that inclusive reactions to deviance attempt to control deviation through intense interactional pressure, accompanied by relatively low attitudinal hostility toward the deviant. Exclusive reactions to deviance reject the deviant as an outsider and are characterized by low levels of interaction, but high levels of covert hostility. Inclusive reactions tend to occur when deviance is attributed to a particular situation, whereas deviance attributed to the character of the deviant tends to result in exclusive reactions.
Public knowledge of crime and justice is largely derived from the media. This paper examines the influence of media consumption on fear of crime, punitive attitudes and perceived police effectiveness. This research contributes to the literature by expanding knowledge on the relationship between fear of crime and media consumption. This study also contributes to limited research on the media's influence on punitive attitudes, while providing a much-needed analysis of the relationship between media consumption and satisfaction with the police. Employing OLS regression, the results indicate that respondents who are regular viewers of crime drama are more likely to fear crime. However, the relationship is weak. Furthermore, the results indicate that gender, education, income, age, perceived neighborhood problems and police effectiveness are statistically related to fear of crime. In addition, fear of crime, income, marital status, race, and education are statistically related to punitive attitudes. Finally, age, fear of crime, race, and perceived neighborhood problems are statistically related to perceived police effectiveness.
This article demonstrates the potential of small group laboratory research for attacking some of the theoretical and methodological
problems currently confronting the societal-reaction perspective in the field of deviance. The results of small group research
by Schachter, and Sampson and Brandon are reinterpreted within a conceptual framework derived from the societal-reaction literature.
These two studies suggest that inclusive reactions to deviance attempt to control deviation through intense interactional
pressure, accompanied by relatively low attitudinal hostility toward the deviant. Exclusive reactions to deviance reject the
deviant as an outsider and are characterized by low levels of interaction, but high levels of covert hostility. Inclusive
reactions tend to occur when deviance is attributed to a particular situation, whereas deviance attributed to the character
of the deviant tends to result in exclusive reactions.
Social psychological theories of social stereotyping are used to generate a series of predictions about the conditions under which whites' stereotypes of African-Americans are likely to bias their evaluations of blacks in the context of crime. Stereotypes of African-Americans should influence attitudes on crime policy primarily when criminals are black, crimes are violent, policies are punitive, and no individuating information seriously undercuts the stereotype. Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) procedures are used to administer a series of survey experiments where the race and other characteristics of the target (e.g., criminal suspects, furlough programs, etc.) are manipulated in interviews with Lexington, Kentucky residents in a 1994 probability survey. Consistent with our expectations, we find a strong relationship between whites' images of African-American and judgments of crime and punishment, but only for black criminals who commit violent crimes, and only for punitive (vs. preventive) policies. Because these are the circumstances which typically surround the crime issue, we conclude that much of public opinion in this domain is influenced by racial concerns.
We address individual-level hypotheses from Braithwaite’s shaming theory using Russian survey data. The results are mixed. Disintegrative shaming is associated with future misconduct, but being reintegratively shamed is also positively predictive of projected crime/deviance while participating in gossip is unrelated to future deviance. Interdependency does not seem to enhance the effects of shaming variables. In addition, guilt and fear of losing respect from others for potential misbehavior do not seem to be related to past shaming experiences nor do they mediate supposed relationships between past shaming experiences and misconduct. These results, in conjunction with the collective body of evidence already compiled, suggest that the theory may need further refinement.
Using data from the 2000 National Election Study, this research investigates the sources of the racial divide in support for capital punishment with a specific focus on white racism. After delineating a measure of white racism, we explore whether it can account for why a majority of African Americans oppose the death penalty while most whites support it. The results indicate that one-third of the racial divide in support for the death penalty can be attributed to the influence of our measure of white racism. The analyses also revealed that when other factors are controlled, support for capital punishment among nonracist whites is similar to that of African Americans. We examine the implications of these findings for using public opinion to justify the death penalty.
Prior research has established that the characteristics of “places” are an important aspect of public safety and local quality of life. Growth in the rates of incarceration since 1973, combined with social disparity in the experience of imprisonment among certain groups, has meant that some communities experience concentrated levels of incarceration. This article examines the spatial impact of incarceration and explores the problems associated with removing and returning offenders to communities that suffer from high rates of incarceration. The study analyzes data from a series of individual and group interviews designed to reveal the experiences and perspectives of a sample of 39 Tallahassee, Florida, residents (including ex-offenders) who live in two high-incarceration neighborhoods. The authors then provide a series of policy recommendations to offset some of the unintended consequences of incarceration. The article concludes with research priorities for further study.
Analyses of the effects of America's experiment with vastly increased use of imprisonment as a penal sanction typically focus on crime reduction and public spending. Little attention has been paid to collateral effects. Imprisonment significantly reduces later employment rates and incomes of exprisoners. In many urban communities, large fractions of young men attain prison records and are thus made less able to contribute to their communities and families. Less is known about the effects of a parent's imprisonment on children's development, though mainstream theories provide grounds for predicting those effects are substantial and deleterious. Until research begins to shed light on these questions, penal policy will continue to be set in ignorance of important ramifications of alternate policy options.
Recent research shows that the crucial factor determining the rejection of former mental patients is their behavior rather than their stigmantized status. The study reported here, based on a vignette experiment (with a design that varies patient status with the nature of behavior), challenges this conclusion. Like previous research, it indicates that a simple assessment of labelings shows little effect on a social distance scale. However, when a measure of perceived dangerousness of mental patients is introduced, strong labeling effects emerge. Specifically, the data reveal that the lable of "previous hospitalization" fosters high social distance among those who perceive mental patients to be dangerous and low social distance among those who do not see patients as a threat. It appears that past investigators have missed these effects because they have averaged excessively lenient responses with excessively rejecting ones. This suggests that labels play an important role in how former mental patients are p...
The present study examined the relationships between patterns of police arrests and subsequent variations in robbery, burglary, and aggravated assault in New York City police precincts from 1989 to 1998. Grounded in the structural deterrence theoretical perspective, and using a two‐stage fixed‐effects statistical framework, the study found that while controlling for indicators of social disorganization, increases in arrest vigor (i.e., arrests per officer for violent crimes in each precinct and raw arrest counts) predicted decreases in robbery and burglary, but that the relationships were non‐linear: as arrest vigor increased, robbery and burglary crime decreased; when arrest thresholds were reached, however, both robbery and burglary crime rates became positively associated with arrest aggressiveness. Conversely, variations in aggressive arrest patterns had no significant effect on aggravated assault, supporting the suppressible crimes arguments that primarily economically motivated crimes, and those that tend to occur in public settings, are most likely deterred by aggressive police practices.
This paper advances a comparative conflict theory of racial and ethnic similarities and differences in youth perceptions of criminal injustice. We use HLM models to test six conflict hypotheses with data from more than 18,000 Chicago public school students. At the micro-level African American youth are more vulnerable to police contacts than are Latinos, who are more at risk than whites, and there is a corresponding gradient in minority group perceptions of injustice. When structural sources of variation in adolescents' experiences are taken into account, however, minority youth perceptions of criminal injustice appear more similar to one another, while remaining distinct from those of white youth. At the micro-level, Latino youth respond more strongly and negatively to police contacts, even though they experience fewer of them. At the macrolevel, as white students in schools increase cross-sectionally, perceptions of injustice among both African American and Latino youth at first intensify and then ultimately abate. Although there are again signs of a gradient, African American and Latino responses to school integration also are as notable in their similarities as in their differences. Reduced police contacts and meaningful school integration are promising mechanisms for diminishing both adolescent African American and Latino perceptions of criminal injustice.
At no time in history, and certainly in no other democratic society, have prisons been filled so quickly and to such capacity than in the United States. And nowhere has this growth been more concentrated than in the disadvantaged-and primarily minority-neighborhoods of America's largest urban cities. In the most impoverished places, as much as 20% of the adult men are locked up on any given day, and there is hardly a family without a father, son, brother, or uncle who has not been behind bars. While the effects of going to and returning home from prison are well-documented, little attention has been paid to the impact of removal on neighborhoods where large numbers of individuals have been imprisoned. In the first detailed, empirical exploration of the effects of mass incarceration on poor places, this book demonstrates that in high doses incarceration contributes to the very social problems it is intended to solve-it breaks up family and social networks; deprives siblings, spouses, and parents of emotional and financial support; threatens the economic and political infrastructure of already struggling neighborhoods; and destabilizes the community, thus further reducing public safety. Especially at risk are children who, research shows, are more likely to commit a crime if a father or brother has been to prison. Demonstrating that the current incarceration policy in urban America does more harm than good, from increasing crime to widening racial disparities and diminished life chances for youths, the book argues that we cannot overcome the problem of mass incarceration concentrated in poor places without incorporating an idea of community justice into our failing correctional and criminal justice systems.
Local television news is the public's primary source of public affairs information. News stories about crime dominate local news programming because they meet the demand for "action news." The prevalence of this type of reporting has led to a crime narrative or "script" that includes two core elements: crime is violent and perpetrators of crime are non-white males. We show that this script has become an ingrained heuristic for understanding crime and race. Using a multi-method design, we assess the impact of the crime script on the viewing public. Our central finding is that exposure to the racial element of the crime script increases support for punitive approaches to crime and heightens negative attitudes about African-Americans among white, but not black, viewers. In closing, we consider the implications of our results for intergroup relations, electoral politics, and the practice of journalism.
-In attempting to resolve the issue of race vs shared belief in racial prejudice, Triandis suggested that race would be more important in intimate relationships and shared belief in less intimate relationships. The present research both tested this finding and sought to determine if a similar pattern applied to acceptance of retuned prisoners. 96 university srudents responded to a behavioral differential questionnaire which was analyzed by an ex post fact0 experimental design. Three research hypotheses were formulsted to test the importance of the degree-of-intimacy dimension, and none were supported. It is concluded that more work is needed before the race-versus-shared-belief issue can be considered properly resolved. During the early 1960s an issue was raised as to the relative importance of race and shared belief as factors in racial prejudice. Rokeach and associates (Rokeach, Smith, & Evans, 1960; Rokeach, 1961) presented evidence that perceived belief congruence, rather than racial or ethnic' identity, was the primary basis of discrimination for interaction on the level of friendship. Triandis (1961) questioned such a strong role for belief similarity, presenting evidence for the considerable salience of race as such for attraction or rejection on at least some levels of interaction. By the late 1960s, however, this issue appeared to be settled. Further research (Stein, Hardyck, & Smith, 1965; Triandis & Davis, 1965; Insko 8: Robinson, 1967) showed that both race and shared belief were important factors. Furthermore, the work by Triandis and Davis appeared to specify fairly well the conditions when each of these would be most impor
We advance here a neighborhood-level perspective on racial differences in legal cynicism, dissatisfaction with police, and the tolerance of various forms of deviance. Our basic premise is that structural characteristics of neighbor-hoods explain variations in normative orientations about law, criminal justice, and deviance that are often confounded with the demographic characteristics of individuals. Using a multilevel approach that permits the decomposition of variance within and between neighborhoods, we tested hypotheses on a recently completed study of 8,782 residents of 343 neighborhoods in Chicago. Contrary to received wisdom, we find that African Americans and Latinos are less tolerant of deviance--including violence--than whites. At the same time, neighborhoods of concentrated disadvantage display elevated levels of legal cynicism, dissatisfaction with police, and tolerance of deviance unaccounted for by sociodemographic composition and crime-rate differences. Concentrated disadvantage also helps explain why African Americans are more cynical about law and dissatisfied with the police. Neighborhood context is thus important for resolving the seeming paradox that estrangement from legal norms and agencies of criminal justice, especially by blacks, is compatible with the personal condemnation of deviance.
This study examines why the public supports the punishment of rule breakers. It does so within the context of a recently enacted California initiative mandating life in prison for repeat felons (the "three strikes" law). Antecedents of three aspects of people's reactions to rule breakers are explored: (1) support for the three strikes initiative, (2) support for punitiveness in dealing with rule breakers, and (3) willingness to abandon procedural protections when dealing with potential rule breakers. The results of interviews with members of the public suggest that the widely held view that public punitiveness develops primarily from concerns about crime and the courts and is primarily linked to public views about risk and dangerousness is incorrect. While these factors do influence public feelings, they are not the central reasons underlying public punitiveness. Instead, the source of people's concerns lies primarily in their evaluations of social conditions, including the decline in morality and discipline within the family and increases in the diversity of society. These concerns are about issues of moral cohesion-with people feeling that the quality and extent of social bonds and social consensus has deteriorated in American society.
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Child development and juvenile justice experts agree that, in theory, youth should not be treated in the criminal justice system in the same manner as adults. Juvenile corrections facilities should provide a setting for establishing positive relationships that influence the healthy development of young offenders. However, rehabilitation does not often enter into the current juvenile justice process in the manner that theory suggests. This paper presents an exploration of the net impact of confinement on youth age 16 and younger and proposes a research plan to examine this issue.
This article explores public attitudes toward the disenfranchisement of felons. Using survey research methods -- Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing of 503 randomly selected adults -- the authors posed questions related to the purpose of the criminal justice system, public attitudes about treatment and punishment of felons, and public support for the disenfranchisement of felons. The data is aggregated and sorted based on ethnicity, gender, political affiliation, and education. The data demonstrates that the American public does not support permanent disenfranchisement of convicted felons but that it does support some limitations. The authors first review state laws and legal/political issues implicated, then discuss their research, and finally propose future research focused on different policies within states and invite future scholarship in this area.
This paper advances a comparative conflict theory of racial and ethnic similarities and differences in youth perceptions of criminal injustice. We use HLM models to test six conflict hypotheses with data from more than 18,000 Chicago public school students. At the micro-level African American youth are more vulnerable to police contacts than are Latinos, who are more at risk than whites, and there is a corresponding gradient in minority group perceptions of injustice. When structural sources of variation in adolescents' experiences are taken into account, however, minority youth perceptions of criminal injustice appear more similar to one another, while remaining distinct from those of white youth. At the micro-level, Latino youth respond more strongly and negatively to police contacts, even though they experience fewer of them. At the macrolevel, as white students in schools increase cross-sectionally, perceptions of injustice among both African American and Latino youth at first intensify and then ultimately abate. Although there are again signs of a gradient, African American and Latino responses to school integration also are as notable in their similarities as in their differences. Reduced police contacts and meaningful school integration are promising mechanisms for diminishing both adolescent African American and Latino perceptions of criminal injustice.
A sizeable body of literature has found a surprising amount of agreement among racial and other demographic subgroups on punitive attitudes toward criminals. This consensus has been widely interpreted as evidence for functionalist views of crime and society. Challenging this interpretation, this paper argues that the similar attitudes between the races on punitiveness may in fact mask underlying hostilities and conflicting interests. Analyzing data from the 1987 National Opinion Research Center (NORC) General Social Survey, we find that the punitive attitudes of whites toward criminals are based partly on racial prejudice, while those of blacks are associated with their fear of crime. These results suggest that the consensus found in many previous studies between whites and blacks on punitiveness toward criminals may be apparent rather than real, and that their attitudes toward punitiveness reflect their disparate positions in the social and economic orders.
Opinion polls show increasing punitiveness among the public toward criminals. However, methodological issues raise questions about the use of such polls in developing public policy. To provide a more accurate description of attitudes toward crime, a telephone survey of 397 adults was conducted in which punitive and rehabilitative sentiments toward six common crimes were examined. Respondents expressed a strong punishment orientation toward all six offenses, this punitiveness being relatively uniform across a variety of demographic and attitudinal subpopulations within the sample. However, strong support was also expressed for rehabilitative programs, particularly among the young, poor, and minority populations.
This paper examines how experience with the criminal justice system contextualizes the relationship between people’s attitudes toward informal and formal social controls. In a survey of residents of Leon County, Florida, we asked respondents whether or not they knew someone who had been incarcerated. We also asked about their assessment of informal controls in their neighborhoods and about public control with questions about police, judges, and the criminal justice system as a whole. We find that knowing someone who has been incarcerated makes people with a low assessment of formal control also have a low opinion of informal control. Blacks are more likely than nonblacks to have a low opinion of informal social control only if they have not been exposed to incarceration. Knowing someone who has been incarcerated makes blacks and nonblacks just as likely to hold a negative assessment of informal social control.
Local news programming from three television stations in Orlando, Florida was analyzed for racial and ethnic content in relation to crime. The data show that Blacks are not overrepresented among TV news suspects relative to their proportion in the population or among those arrested in Orlando. Hispanics are slightly overrepresented in relation to their numbers in the population. Qualitatively, Blacks and especially Hispanics who appear as crime suspects do so in more threatening contexts than Whites. Blacks are more likely to appear as criminal suspects than as victims or positive role models, but this pattern is especially amplified for Hispanics. These results suggest that local TV news may contribute to the social construction of threat in relation to Blacks and Hispanics, a condition that is associated with fear of crime, “modern racism,” and the mobilization of various social controls and exclusions.
With over 2 million individuals currently incarcerated, and over half a million prisoners released each year, the large and growing number of men being processed through the criminal justice system raises important questions about the consequences of this massive institutional intervention. This article focuses on the consequences of incarceration for the employment outcomes of black and white job seekers. The present study adopts an experimental audit approach-in which matched pairs of individuals applied for real entry-level jobs-to formally test the degree to which a criminal record affects subsequent employment opportunities. The findings of this study reveal an important, and much underrecognized, mechanism of stratification. A criminal record presents a major barrier to employment, with important implications for racial disparities.
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This essay seeks to move on from the critical debates that have followed the publication of The Culture of Control by taking up constructive suggestions, refining or extending the book's claims, and sketching out new lines for future research. After a preliminary discussion of the proper role of theory in historical and sociological research it seeks to clarify and develop the following ideas: the concept of the field and its role in the study of crime control and criminal justice; the field as a contested balance of forces; situated rationality and conflicted action; gender relations and the culture of control; national characteristics and responses to late modernity; American exceptionalism; analysis and critique in the study of social control.
In this article, the authors identify three methodological short-comings of the classic Princeton trilogy studies: (a) ambiguity of the instructions given to respondents, (b) no assessment of respondents' level of prejudice, and (c) use of an outdated list of adjectives. These shortcomings are addressed in the authors' assessment of the stereotype and personal beliefs of a sample of University of Wisconsin students. In contrast to the commonly espoused fading stereotype proposition, data suggest that there exists a consistent and negative contemporary stereotype of Blacks. Comparing the data from the Princeton trilogy studies with those of the present study, the authors conclude that the Princeton trilogy studies actually measured respondents' personal beliefs, not (as typically assumed) their knowledge of the Black stereotype. Consistent with Devine's model, high- and low-prejudiced individuals did not differ in their knowledge of the stereotype of Blacks but diverged sharply in their endorsement of the stereotype.
Building upon the work of Stinchcombe, Taylor et al., the present research attempts to assess the impact of victimization, salience, and attribution on four measures of criminal sanctioning: general punishment, rehabilitation, capital punishment, and the punishment of white-collar crime. Utilizing a sample drawn from Galesburg, Illinois, our analysis revealed that attitudes were not significantly influenced by being a victim or by crime salience. In contrast, our measure of attribution (what a person “attributed” the cause of crime to) had consistent effects across the scales, with those having a positivist orientation being less punitive and more in favor of rehabilitation. When members of criminal justice related occupations were included in the analysis, these results generally continued to persist. These findings thus suggest that attributional processes and, in particular, the way in which people explain crime may be important determinants of the attitudes that those both inside and outside the criminal justice system hold toward sanctioning policy.
The construction and validation of the Attitudes toward Prisoners (ATP) scale are described. Factor analysis resulted in a 36-item Likert scale with the items correlating at least .47 with a general factor. The ATP scale possesses moderate to high split-half (r= .84 to .92) and test-retest (r= .82) reliability. No evidence of response distortion was found. A number of comparisons between selected groups provided considerable evidence of validity. Groups of prisoners, as well as persons engaged in prisoner rehabilitation or prison reform, scored highest on the scale. Intermediate-scoring groups consisted of students, a community sample, and correctional officers. As predicted, the group with lowest average ATP scores consisted of law enforcement officers.
In order to clarify the relationship between ethnic identity and self-esteem, this article identifies a number of components of ethnic identity and examines research linking each component to self-esteem. Research generally has found a weak or inconsistent relationship between self-esteem and the following components: negative stereotypes of one's group; acceptance versus rejection of one's group membership; knowledge about one's group; and commitment to the group. Failure to find a clearer relationship may be a result of not taking into account the ethnic group member's relationship to the mainstream culture. There is evidence to suggest that a strong ethnic identity, when accompanied by a positive mainstream orientation, is related to high self-esteem, whereas without some adaptation to the mainstream it may be problematic.
Local television news is the public's primary source of public affairs information. News stories about crime dominate local news programming because they meet the demand for "action news.". The prevalence of this type of reporting has led to a crime narrative or "script" that includes two core elements: crime is violent and perpetrators of crime are non-white males. We show that this script has become an ingrained heuristic for understanding crime and race. Using a multi-method design, we assess the impact of the crime script on the viewing public. Our central finding is that exposure to the racial element of the crime script increases support for punitive approaches to crime and heightens negative attitudes about African-Americans among white, but not black, viewers. In closing, we consider the implications of our results for intergroup relations, electoral politics, and the practice of journalism.
