Incarceration and the Formation and Stability of Marital Unions

Rising imprisonment rates and declining marriage rates among low-education African Americans motivate an analysis of the effects of incarceration on marriage. An event history analysis of 2,041 unmarried men from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth suggests that men are unlikely to marry in th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of marriage and family 2005-08, Vol.67 (3), p.721-734
Main Authors: Lopoo, Leonard M., Western, Bruce
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Americans
Correctional Institutions
Crime
Criminal justice
Criminal punishment
Criminals
Divorce
Educational Attainment
Employment
Family relations
Family studies
Females
Hispanics
Imprisonment
incarceration
Longitudinal Studies
Low income groups
Males
marital dissolution
Marriage
Marriage rates
Men
National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
Nuptiality
Of General Interest
Poverty
Prisons
Racial Differences
Sexuality. Marriage. Family relations
Sociology
Sociology of the family. Age groups
Transitions
U.S.A
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Summary:Rising imprisonment rates and declining marriage rates among low-education African Americans motivate an analysis of the effects of incarceration on marriage. An event history analysis of 2,041 unmarried men from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth suggests that men are unlikely to marry in the years they serve in prison. A separate analysis of 2,762 married men shows that incarceration during marriage significantly increases the risk of divorce or separation. We simulate aggregate marriage rates using estimates from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and find that the prevalence of marriage would change little if incarceration rates were reduced.
ISSN:0022-2445
1741-3737
DOI:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2005.00165.x