Explaining Inconsistencies in the Effects of Incarceration on Socioeconomic Attainment: The Role of Parental Co-Residence

Abstract

Objectives

Parental support could shield individuals against the socioeconomic consequences of incarceration. We examine whether co-residing with parents moderates the associations between incarceration and education, earnings, and neighborhood attainment.

Methods

We used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 2,425), propensity score weighting, and moderated mediation models. We also examined whether co-residence moderated the indirect paths between incarceration and distal forms of attainment via foundational forms of attainment.

Results

Some evidence of moderation was found. In early adulthood, those who had been incarcerated but who were not living with parents had reduced education and lived in more disadvantaged neighborhoods, whereas those who had been incarcerated and lived with parents had reduced education but lived in less disadvantaged neighborhoods. An indirect effect from incarcerations lasting at least two months to neighborhood disadvantage via earnings was visible only for non-coresident individuals. Co-residence mattered less later in adulthood.

Conclusions

There is partial evidence for a protective effect of parental co-residence on post-incarceration outcomes. Family support may help counteract the processes that would otherwise undermine post-release success. Scholars should examine other potential moderators of the collateral consequences of incarceration.