Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-nwzlb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-27T21:13:57.869Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

INCARCERATION AND THE HEALTH OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2011

Jason Schnittker*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania
Michael Massoglia
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University
Christopher Uggen
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota
*
Jason Schnittker, Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6299. E-mail: jschnitt@ssc.upenn.edu

Abstract

This article reviews evidence linking incarceration and health, with a particular focus on African Americans, who are disproportionately affected by the incarceration system. Although inmates generally suffer from worse health than comparable, non-institutionalized adults, this comparison is not uniformly the case, and some of the strongest negative effects of incarceration emerge after release, suggesting that the struggles of reintegration into society are as important as the conditions of incarceration. We review evidence for the basic relationship between incarceration and health from individual-level and aggregate-level studies, as well as from evidence and speculation regarding potential mediating mechanisms. Many questions remain regarding these mechanisms and, by extension, which policies are most promising for reducing incarceration's impact on health. Among other issues, the incarceration-health connection also raises fundamental questions regarding the level of harm society is willing to accept as part of routine punishment for criminal behavior.

Type
Unpacking Racism and its Health Consequences
Copyright
Copyright © W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

1

This research funded in part by a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Investigator Award in Health Policy Research to Schnittker and Uggen. We thank Sarah Shannon for helpful comments on an earlier draft.

References

REFERENCES

Binswanger, Ingrid A., Krueger, Patrick M., and Steiner, John F. (2009). Prevalence of Chronic Medical Conditions Among Jail and Prison Inmates in the USA Compared With the General Population. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 63: 912–19.Google Scholar
Binswanger, Ingrid A., Stern, Marc F., Deyo, Richard A., Heagerty, Patrick J., Cheadle, Allen, Elmore, Joann G., and Koepsell, Thomas D. (2007). Release From Prison—A High Risk of Death for Former Inmates. New England Journal of Medicine, 356: 157–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bobo, Lawrence D. and Thompson, Victor (2010). Racialized Mass Incarceration: Poverty, Prejudice, and Punishment. In Markus, Hazel R. and Moya, Paula (Eds.) Doing Race: 21 Essays for the 21st Century, pp. 322355. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Braman, Donald (2004). Doing Time on the Outside: Incarceration and Family Life in Urban America. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.Google Scholar
Clear, Todd R. (2007). Imprisoning Communities: How Mass Incarceration Makes Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Worse. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Comfort, Megan (2008). Doing Time Together: Love and Family in the Shadow of the Prison. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Decker, Michael D., Vaughn, William K., Brodie, Jamie S., Hutcheson, Robert H. Jr., and Schaffner, William (1985). The Incidence of Hepatitis B in Tennessee Prisoners. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 152: 214–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Edin, Kathryn, Nelson, Timothy J., and Paranal, Rechelle (2004). Fatherhood and Incarceration As Potential Turning Points in the Criminal Careers of Unskilled Men. In Patillo, Mary, Weiman, David, and Western, Bruce (Eds.) Imprisoning America: The Social Effects of Mass Incarceration, pp. 4675. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Foster, Holly and Hagan, John (2007). Incarceration and Intergenerational Social Exclusion. Social Problems, 54: 399433.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freudenberg, Nicholas, Daniels, Jessie, Crum, Martha, Perkins, Tiffany, and Richie, Beth E. (2005). Coming Home From Jail: The Social and Health Consequences of Community Reentry for Women, Male Adolescents, and Their Families and Communities. American Journal of Public Health, 95: 1725–36.Google Scholar
Garland, David (2001). Introduction: The Meaning of Mass Imprisonment. In Barland, David (Ed.) Mass Imprisonment: Social Causes and Consequences, pp. 13. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geller, Amanda, Garfinkel, Irwin, and Western, Bruce (2008). Incarceration and Support for Children in Fragile Families. Working Paper, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, Princeton University.Google Scholar
Glaze, Lauren E. and Bonczar, Thomas P. (2007). Probation and Parole in the United States, 2006. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.Google Scholar
Golembeski, Cynthia and Fullilove, Robert (2005). Criminal (In)Justice in the City and Its Associated Health Consequences. American Journal of Public Health, 95: 1701–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hagan, John and Palloni, Alberto (1990). The Social Reproduction of a Criminal Class in Working Class London, circa 1950–1980. American Journal of Sociology, 96: 265–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huebner, Beth M. (2005). The Effect of Incarceration on Marriage and Work Over the Life Course. Justice Quarterly, 22: 281303.Google Scholar
Hull, Harry F., Lyons, Lawrence H., Mann, Jonathan M., Hadler, Stephen C., Steece, Richard, and Skeels, Michael R. (1985). Incidence of Hepatitis B in the Penitentiary of New Mexico. American Journal of Public Health, 75: 1213–14.Google Scholar
Johnson, Rucker C. and Raphael, Steven (2009). The Effects of Male Incarceration Dynamics on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Infection Rates among African American Women and Men. Journal of Law and Economics, 52: 251293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khan, Amy J., Simard, Edgar P., Bower, William A., Wurtzel, Heather L., Khristova, Marina, Wagner, Karla D., Arnold, Kathryn E., Nainan, Omana V., LaMarre, Madeleine, and Bell, Beth P. (2005). Ongoing Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus Infection Among Inmates at a State Correctional Facility. American Journal of Public Health, 95: 1793–99.Google Scholar
Kunitz, Stephen J. (2004). Social Capital and Health. British Medical Bulletin, 69: 6173.Google Scholar
Link, Bruce G. and Phelan, Jo (1995). Social Conditions As Fundamental Causes of Disease. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Extra Issue: 8094.Google Scholar
Link, Bruce G. and Phelan, Jo C. (2001). Conceptualizing Stigma. Annual Review of Sociology, 27: 363–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
London, Andrew S. and Myers, Nancy A. (2006). Race, Incarceration, and Health: A Life-Course Approach. Research on Aging, 28: 409422.Google Scholar
London, Andrew S. and Parker, Wendy M. (2009). Incarceration and Living Arrangements: Findings from the National Health and Social Life Survey. Journal of Family Issues, 30: 787812.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lopoo, Leonard M. and Western, Bruce (2005). Incarceration and the Formation and Stability of Marital Unions. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67: 721734.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynch, James P. and Sabol, William J. (2006). Assessing the Effects of Mass Incarceration on Informal Social Control in Communities. Criminology and Public Policy, 3: 267–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maruschak, Laura M. (2010a). HIV in Prisons, 2007–08. Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin, January.Google Scholar
Maruschak, Laura M. (2010b). Medical Problems of Prisoners, 2004. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.Google Scholar
Massoglia, Michael (2008a). Incarceration as Exposure: The Prison, Infectious Disease, and Other Stress-Related Illnesses. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 16: 5671.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Massoglia, Michael (2008b). Incarceration, Health, and Racial Disparities in Health. Law and Society Review, 42: 275306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murray, Joseph and Farrington, David P. (2008). Parental Imprisonment: Long-Lasting Effects on Boys' Internalizing Problems through the Life-Course. Development and Psychopathology, 20: 273–90.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Commission on Correctional Health Care (2002). The Health Status of Soon-To-Be-Released Inmates. Washington, DC: National Commission on Correctional Health Care.Google Scholar
Pager, Devah (2003). The Mark of a Criminal Record. American Journal of Sociology, 108: 937–75.Google Scholar
Patterson, Evelyn (2010). Incarcerating Death: An Analysis of Mortality in United States' State Correctional Facilities, 1985–1998. Demography, 47(3): 587607.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Restum, Zulficar G. (2005). Public Health Implications of Substandard Correctional Health Care. American Journal of Public Health, 95: 1689–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sampson, Robert J. and Bartusch, Dawn J. (1998). Legal Cynicism and (Subcultural?) Tolerance of Deviance: The Neighborhood Context of Racial Differences. Law & Society Review, 32: 777804.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schnittker, Jason and John, Andrea (2007). Enduring Stigma: The Long-Term Effects of Incarceration on Health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 16: 115–30.Google Scholar
Smedley, Brian D., Stith, Adienne Y., and Nelson, Alan R. (2003). Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.Google Scholar
Stephenson, Becky L., Wohl, David A., Golin, Carol E., Tien, Hisao-Chuan, Stewart, Paul, and Kaplan, Andrew H. (2005). Effect of Release From Prison and Re-Incarceration on the Viral Loads of HIV-Infected Individuals. Public Health Reports, 120: 8488.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stuckler, David, Basu, Sanjay, McKee, Martin, and King, Lawrence (2008). Mass Incarceration Can Explain Population Increases in TB and Multidrug-Resistant TB in European and Central Asian Countries. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105: 1328013285.Google Scholar
Thomas, James C. and Torrone, Elizabeth (2006). Incarceration As Forced Migration: Effects on Selected Community Health Outcomes. American Journal of Public Health, 96: 1762–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Uggen, Christopher, Manza, Jeff, and Thompson, Melissa (2006). Citizenship, Democracy, and the Civic Reintegration of Criminal Offenders. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 605: 281310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wakefield, Sara (2009). Parental Loss of Another Sort? Parental Incarceration and Children's Mental Health. Unpublished Manuscript, Department of Sociology, University of California-Irvine.Google Scholar
Wakefield, Sara and Uggen, Christopher (2010). Incarceration and Stratification. Annual Review of Sociology, 36: 387406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Western, Bruce and Wildeman, Christopher (2009). The Black Family and Mass Incarceration. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 621: 221–42.Google Scholar
Wildeman, Christopher (2010a). Imprisonment and (Inequality in) Population Health. Paper presented at the Population Association of American Annual Meeting. Dallas, TX, April 17, 2010.Google Scholar
Wildeman, Christopher (2010b). Imprisonment and Infant Mortality. Population Studies Center Research Report No. 09-692. University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, MI.Google Scholar
Wildeman, Christopher (2010c). Paternal Incarceration and Children's Physically Aggressive Behaviors: Evidence from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Social Forces, 89(1): 285309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilper, Andrew P., Woolhandler, Steffie, Boyd, J. W., Lasser, Karen E., McCormick, Danny, Bor, David H., and Himmelstein, David U. (2009). The Health and Health Care of U.S. Prisoners: Results of a Nationwide Survey. American Journal of Public Health, 99: 666–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed