Love after lockup: examining the role of marriage, social status, and financial stress among formerly incarcerated individuals

BACKGROUND

Upon reintegration into society, formerly incarcerated individuals (FIIs) experience chronic financial stress due to prolonged unemployment, strained social relationships, and financial obligations. This study examined whether marriage and perceived social status can mitigate financial stress, which is deleterious to the well-being of FIIs. We also assessed whether sociodemographic factors influenced financial stress across marital status. We used cross-sectional data from 588 FIIs, collected in the 2023 Survey of Racism and Public Health. The financial stress outcome (Cronbach's [Formula: see text] = 0.86) comprised of five constructs: psychological distress, financial anxiety, job insecurity, life satisfaction, and financial well-being. Independent variables included marital and social status, age, race/ethnicity, gender identity, educational attainment, employment status, and number of dependents. Multivariable models tested whether financial stress levels differed by marital and perceived social status (individual and interaction effects). Stratified multivariable models assessed whether social status and sociodemographic associations varied by marital status.

RESULTS

We found that being married/living with a partner (M/LWP, b = -5.2) or having higher social status (b = -2.4) were protective against financial stress. Additionally, the social status effect was more protective among divorced, separated, or widowed participants (b = -2.5) compared to never married (NM, b = -2.2) and M/LWP (b = -1.7) participants. Lower financial stress correlated with Black race and older age, with the age effect being more pronounced among M/LWP participants (b = -9.7) compared to NM participants (b = -7.3). Higher financial stress was associated with woman gender identity (overall sample b = 2.9, NM sample b = 5.1), higher education (M/LWP sample b = 4.4), and having two or more dependents (overall sample b = 2.3, M/LWP sample b = 3.4).

CONCLUSIONS

We provide novel insights into the interrelationship between marriage, perceived social status, and financial stress among FIIs. Our findings indicate the need for policies and programs which may target the family unit, and not only the individual, to help alleviate the financial burden of FIIs. Finally, programs that offer legal aid to assist in expungement or sealing of criminal records or those offering opportunities for community volunteer work in exchange for vouchers specific to legal debt among FIIs could serve to reduce financial stress and improve social standing.

Factors associated with methamphetamine use in Japanese people who died of unnatural causes: Analysis using forensic autopsy reports

This study aimed to examine factors related to methamphetamine use in Japanese people who died of unnatural causes. This study used a cross-sectional design. A total of 3343 forensic autopsy reports were obtained from two forensic medicine departments in the Kanto region of Japan. We classified the decedents who underwent forensic autopsies into methamphetamine/amphetamine (MA) and undetected (comparison) groups based on toxicological examination. We matched the decedents in the MA group with those in the comparison group at a 1:4 ratio based on sex and age. The variables, including gang members, criminal records, tattoos, body mass index, infections, concurrent psychotropic drug use, and cause of death, were compared between the groups. Of the 3343 decedents, we matched 109 in the MA group with 436 in the comparison group. Methamphetamine use was significantly associated with gang membership (13.8% vs. 3%, p < 0.001), criminal records unrelated to methamphetamine (47.7% vs. 13.8%, p < 0.001), tattoos (29.2% vs. 6.4%, p < 0.001), and hepatitis C virus infection (48.0% vs. 3.6%, p < 0.001). One-third of the patients in the MA group died from poisoning. This is the first study to show the physical and social characteristics associated with methamphetamine use in Japanese people who died of unnatural causes. Our results could be extended to people with methamphetamine use disorder at risk of death and enable the development of policies and practices to provide necessary intervention in a timely manner.

The Impact of Criminal Record Stigma on Quality of Life: A Test of Theoretical Pathways

Across multiple stigmatized groups, research suggests that stigma may negatively impact individual wellbeing. This impact often occurs through a sequential pathway that includes perceiving societal stigma, a diminished and stereotyped self-concept (i.e., internalized stigma), experiences of discrimination and rejection, and attempts to cope with stigma (e.g., secrecy or withdrawal). While prior research supports individual links within this pathway, no study has evaluated a model representing the relationships between all of these factors in relation to criminal record stigma. This study utilized cross-sectional data from an online survey of 198 adults to test the pathways through which criminal record-related stigma impacts individual quality of life. The results indicated that perceived stigma was a significant predictor of discrimination and rejection experiences, secrecy coping strategies, and decreased quality of life. There was also a significant indirect association between perceived stigma and quality of life through secrecy coping. Consistent with recent criminal record stigma research, internalized stigma was low among respondents. These findings point to the importance of reducing criminal record stigma and discrimination, so that individuals with criminal records have more opportunities to enhance their quality of life without having to withdraw from society or keep their record a secret.

Call the police immediately: Factors influencing perpetrator arrest time in child abduction cases in South Korea

BACKGROUND

Considering the devastating long-term effects on victims caused by child abduction, a thorough examination of child abduction cases as well as the identification of specific factors determining offender arrest times are required.

OBJECTIVE

The current study aims to better understand the characteristics of child abduction and contribute to improving efficient investigation and rapid offender apprehension.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

The study uses data from investigation and trial records of abduction cases in South Korea from 1997 to 2008. A total of 144 cases of child abductions were analyzed. We investigated the characteristics of victims and offenders and incident characteristics including crime planning, the use of violence, and the time taken to realize that a child was missing, reporting it to the police, and arresting perpetrators.

METHODS

We examined the data by using logistic regression analysis and the gamma generalized linear model.

RESULTS

It took significantly less time to arrest offenders if they had criminal records. The higher the age of the victim, the longer it took for the offender to be arrested. It took longer for the offender to be arrested in parental abduction cases than in non-parental abduction cases, and it took longer to arrest the perpetrator with delayed recognition that a child was missing and delayed police reporting.

CONCLUSIONS

The current findings emphasize the importance of rapid responses following abductions. The study provides strategies to assist with accurate decision making by investigators and fast case resolution through the early arrest of child abductors.

How indicative is a self-reported driving behaviour profile of police registered traffic law offences?

Although most motorised countries have experienced massive improvements in road safety over the last decades, human behaviour and differences in accident risk across sub-groups of drivers remains a key issue in the area of road safety. The identification of risk groups requires the identification of reliable predictors of safe or unsafe driving behaviour. Given this background, the aim of this study was to test whether driver sub-groups identified based on self-reported driving behaviour and skill differed in registered traffic law offences and accidents, and whether group membership was predictive of having traffic law offences. Sub-groups of drivers were identified based on the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) and the Driver Skill Inventory (DSI), while traffic offences and accidents were register-based (Statistics Denmark). The participants (N=3683) were aged 18-84 years and randomly selected from the Danish Driving License Register. Results show that the driver sub-groups differed significantly in registered traffic offences but not in registered accidents. In a logistic regression analysis, the sub-group "Violating unsafe drivers" was found predictive of having a traffic offence, even when socio-demographic variables and exposure were controlled for. The most important predictive factor, however, was having a criminal record for non-traffic offences, while gender, living without a partner, and being self-employed also had a significant effect. The study confirms the use of the DBQ and DSI as suitable instruments for predicting traffic offences while also confirming previous results on accumulation of problematic behaviours across life contexts. The finding that driver sub-groups did not differ in registered accidents supports the recent research activities in finding and modelling surrogate safety measures.