Across the Life Course and Into Custody: Understanding Incarceration Pathways of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals

Incarceration is rarely an isolated event but reflects cumulative institutional and interpersonal disadvantage across the life course. Although life-course criminology explains these trajectories for the general population, it has rarely been applied to d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) individuals, a population that is both understudied and difficult to access. This study addresses that gap using Life History Calendars to reconstruct the pathways of 16 incarcerated D/HH individuals in the southeastern United States. Findings identify early communication deprivation and family isolation as distinct criminogenic transitions. Participants described "no communication" environments marked by marginalization and an inability to report harm, with 75% experiencing childhood physical or sexual abuse. These conditions triggered cascading turning points, including school exclusion, peer-driven delinquency, substance use, and barriers to employment. Overall, participants' pathways to incarceration were characterized by intertwined trauma and structural exclusion beginning early in life, underscoring the need for early language access and family-centered interventions.