Impact of Marital and Relationship Status on Social Outcomes for Returning Prisoners. ASPE Research Brief

摘要

There is a large body of empirical literature showing that marriage reduces criminal activity. However, many of these studies were done on the general population or used data that is now decades old. Very little research has examined whether relationship status impacts social outcomes, including desistance from crime and labor market participation, among a contemporary cohort of ex-prisoners. Using data collected from over 650 male former prisoners returning to three large U.S. cities between 2002 and 2005, we tested the short-term impact of marital and intimate partner status on recidivism, substance use and employment. After statistically adjusting for self-selection into marriage or into unmarried relationships, we found that former prisoners who were married or living as married had half the odds of self-reporting a new crime and/or drug use as did those in casual, unmarried relationships. Marriages effect on drug use was strongest for older ex-offenders (those over age 25), suggesting that committed relationships are more beneficial for those already in the process of aging out of crime. Moreover, higher quality partnerships were associated with lower odds of drug use. Former prisoners in casual, non-married relationships experienced outcomes similar to those with no intimate partner. Overall, the findings suggest that in-prison programs that strengthen the quality of partner relationships may improve recidivism and substance use outcomes after release.