Drug Use and Crime after Incarceration: The Role of Family Support and Family Conflict

AbstractPeople who were previously incarcerated overwhelmingly cite family interaction as among the most important factors in successful reentry and desistance. Yet, little research has explicitly sought to explore the relationship between family support and family conflict among former prisoners and their effect on reentry. Utilizing social control theory from a life course perspective, the current project explores patterns of drug use and criminal desistance of people who were previously incarcerated (n = 740) and the relationship to family support and conflict. Results indicate higher levels of family conflict coincide with increased odds of drug use and crime immediately following release from prison. A multinomial logistic model indicates patterns of drug use at specific points in time directly coincide with patterns of family conflict, but not family support. The implications of these findings are addressed.Keywords: reentrylife coursefamily interactiondrug use Additional informationNotes on contributorsThomas J. MowenThomas J. Mowen is a graduate student in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D in sociology. His areas of interest are within criminology, youth, delinquency, and family. He serves as Managing Editor for Contemporary Anthropology and Sociology.Christy A. VisherChristy A. Visher is Professor at the University of Delaware and Director of the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies, a research center within the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. She has 30 years of experience in policy research and evaluation on crime and justice issues. At the Urban Institute, she designed and directed Returning Home: The Challenges of Prisoner Reentry, the pathbreaking multi-state, longitudinal study of 1500 men and women exiting prison and returning to their families and communities. Her research interests focus on criminal careers, substance abuse, communities and crime, violence, and the evaluation of strategies for crime control and prevention.