Help or hindrance: Do peers raise or lower the odds of reoffending?

The United States houses twenty-five percent of the world’s incarcerated population (Taylor & Becker, 2015). To address the scale of mass incarceration, the criminal justice literature has attempted to understand the challenges and methods of assisting recently released offenders to help re-integrate released offenders back into the community. 

What is recidivism?

Recidivism, or the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend, "is one of the most fundamental concepts in criminal justice" (National Institute of Justice).  It is measured by criminal acts that result in rearrest, reconviction, or return to prison in the three-year period following the person's release. 

Given the high recidivism rates and harsh struggles that offenders face while reentering the community, research aimed at predicting which factors are related to successful prisoner reentry is in high demand. How to reduce recidivism is an important topic of consideration for policy makers and practitioners, and much more so for the communities to which prisoners return upon release.

Social support may be one of the key influences on recidivism according to several researchers. Peer support and recidivism are connected, for better or worse. 

Less likely to recidivate.

In 2014, Cochran examined the relationship between in-prison visitation and recidivism, and found that prisoners who were visited early in their prison term were significantly less likely to recidivate in reentry than those who were never visited. 

RELATED: How to prevent recidivism.

Warner-Robbins and Parsons (2010) conducted research on 315 women recently released from jail or prison who participated in a reentry program that focused on peer support through peer mentors, case managers, peer leaders, and prison chaplains. Women in this program had notably low rates of drug use and criminal justice system involvement. 

Other research has found that social support is related to a variety of positive outcomes, such a reduction in depression and anxiety (Iwamoto, Gordon, & Oliveros, 2012) and increases in psychological well-being (Listwan, Colvin, Hanle, & Flannery, 2010).

RELATED: Is social support the cure for recidivism?

More likely to recidivate.

It should come as no surprise that peers in reentry can also have a negative influence, especially when these relationships are with criminal peers. Cobbina, Huebner, and Berg (2012) concluded that men with criminal peers were more at risk of recidivism when they associated with others who engaged in criminal activity. 

No effect on recidivism.

Given that social support is believed to be a critical component in research surrounding health and psychological wellbeing, crime and recidivism, and drug and alcohol abuse, Taylor and Becker (2015) used a data set from the Serious and Violent Reentry Initiative (SVORI) to measure the effect of peer support on recidivism in reentry. They investigated peer instrumental support, which refers to the scope to which peers can provide or help with finding a place to live, transportation, jobs, and substance abuse treatment (Taylor & Becker, 2015). 

Taylor and Becker predicted that individuals with higher levels of peer support would be less likely to have committed any crime or be arrested post release. They determined that peer support had very little effect on recidivism. 

However, they did find that frequency of victimization was associated with a 51-70% increase in likelihood of reoffending and a 23-43% increase in likelihood of re-arrest. Similarly, the need for alcohol and drug treatment increased the likelihood of arrest in the three to nine month period post release.   

It is worth noting that Taylor and Becker studied instrumental support (as defined above). They suggested that future research should aim to measure social support through an emotional lens (e.g., emotional support). “If more research on emotional peer support is conducted, then more specific causes of recidivism can be narrowed down,” they noted. 

More and less likely to recidivate.

More recently, Mowen and Boman (2018) studied the same data set (SVORI) to examine whether higher levels of peer criminality were related to higher levels of offending and substance use during reentry, and how peer support was related to committing less crime and substance use during reentry. 

Peer crime and peer support were both related to criminal offending and substance use. Peer crime was associated with increased odds of recidivism, and peer support was related to significantly lower odds of recidivism. 

It depends.

To answer the question of whether peers influence recidivism in positive or negative ways within the context of reentry, we find that “it depends.” 

Peer criminality is significantly related to increased likelihood of substance use and offending due to association with criminally inclined peers, and social support from peers protects from crime.

It depends on the type of friends one associates with in reentry. It could also be the case that criminal and supportive influences are stemming from the same peers, Mowen and Boman said. 

If the very same peers who are influencing crime are also providing support, policy implications are therefore complicated. 

“If it is the same peer who is providing both supportive and criminal influences, the policy recommendation that contact with criminal peers should be avoided is not a sufficient response. From this standpoint, cutting off contact with the criminal peer would also remove the much-needed influence of social support” (Mowen & Boman, 2018). 

It makes sense, then, to highlight the utility of pursuing programs that aim to help returning citizens identify people who could be supportive. “With a focus on building life skills and relationships skills, classes designed to help returning citizens develop, bolster, and maintain healthy relationships may be empirically justified to the extent to which they build supportive relationships” (Mowen & Boman, 2018). 

Be a part of the solution: Get trained as a peer supporter.

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LaBarbera Learning Solutions offers a 15-module digital learning solution to help you transform your lived experience into practical, supportive services that help others forge their own path to well-being.

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That is the power of social connection.  

References

• Cobbina, J.E., Huebner, B.M., & Berg, M.T. (2012). Men, women, and postrelease offending: An examination of the nature of the link between relational ties and recidivism. Crime and Delinquency, 58, 331-61.
• Cochran, J.C. (2014). Breaches in the wall: Imprisonment, social support, and recidivism. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 51, 200-229.
• Iwamoto, D. K., Gordon, D., & Oliveros, A. (2012). The role of masculine norms, informal support on depression and anxiety among incarcerated men. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 13(3), 283-293.
• Listwan, S. J., Colvin, M., Hanley, D., & Flannery, D. (2010). Victimization, social support, and psychological well-being: A study of recently released prisoners. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 37, 1140–1159.
• Mowen, T., & Boman, J. H.  (2018).  The duality of the peer effect: The interplay between peer support and peer crimiality on offending and substance use during reentry.  Crime & Delinquency, 64(8), 1094-1116.
• Taylor, C., & Becker, P. (2015). Are your friends crucial or trivial? Peer support’s effect on recidivism. Justice Policy Journal, 12(1), 1-20. 
• Warner-Robbins, C. & Parsons, M.L. (2010). Developing peer leaders and reducing recidivism through long-term participation in a faith-based program: The story of Welcome Home Ministries. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 28, 293-305.