Support for reentry programming: an examination of political orientation, psychological orientations, and criminal justice policy

Research shows that the public generally supports correctional programming, including both in-prison rehabilitation and post-prison reentry services, and are often willing to pay more in taxes to support such initiatives. However, this support varies by political orientation, with conservatives favoring punitive measures and being more skeptical of rehabilitative programs. Using a national survey of 370 U.S. adults, we examine the relative, independent effects of political orientation on support for and opposition to reentry programming. We account for psychological and social orientations, including situational and dispositional attribution styles, affective and cognitive empathy, right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and stigmatizing attitudes and discrimination, to assess whether political orientation remains associated with attitudes toward reentry programming. The results reveal that several of these orientations are independently associated with support for or opposition to reentry programming and that their inclusion attenuates the association between political orientation and these attitudes. These observations may offer insights for policymakers to design interventions that appeal across the political spectrum.