Are All Welcome? An Empirical Examination of Visitor Networks Among Incarcerated Youth

• Author: Brae Young
• Published date: 01 August 2022
• Date: 01 August 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/08874034221090642
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034221090642

Criminal Justice Policy Review

2022, Vol. 33(7) 688 –710

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/08874034221090642

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Article

Are All Welcome? An

Empirical Examination of

Visitor Networks Among

Incarcerated Youth

Brae Young1

Abstract

Although research finds that visitation can be quite beneficial for incarcerated youth,

there is variability in when visits matter. One source of heterogeneity is who visits, with

existing research finding that certain visitor types are more helpful than others. What

has yet to be considered, though, is the importance of visitor networks as a whole.

Using latent class analysis, this study examines whether incarcerated youths’ visitors

form unique networks, and whether the visitation-recidivism relationship differs

across these groups. Results indicate that youths’ visitors fall into three categories:

caretakers, immediate family, or a full network of visitors, and that the visitation-

recidivism relationship differs across these groups. The results underscore the need

for future research to consider not only the individual visitors that incarcerated

persons receive but also their visitor network as a whole.

Keywords

prison visitation, family support, juveniles, juvenile justice

Introduction

Family social ties play a critical role in the lives of children and adolescents. Children

rely on family to form the secure attachments necessary for healthy socialization, the

development of self-control, and the modeling of appropriate behavior (Akers et al.,

1979; Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990; Hay, 2001; Hope et al., 2012). Family ties are also

1Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, USA

Corresponding Author:

Brae Young, Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Christian University, 2855 Main Drive, Fort Worth,

TX 76109, USA.

Email: brae.young@tcu.edu

1090642CJPXXX10.1177/08874034221090642Criminal Justice Policy ReviewYoung

research-article2022

Young 689

a key source of emotional support as youth navigate their way into adulthood (Grusec,

2011; Lugo-Gil & Tamis-LeMonda, 2008; Walberg & Marjoribanks, 1976). Although

social ties are critical for all youth, they may be particularly important for incarcerated

youth. During confinement, youth are removed from friends, family, and the commu-

nity and must contend with a more structured and stressful environment (Johnson &

Toch, 1982; Sickmund & Puzzanchera, 2014; Sparks et al., 1996). Having access to

social ties during this time, though, can help anchor youth to the outside world and

provide them with the support they might need to survive the difficult conditions of

confinement (Meyers et al., 2017; Turanovic & Tasca, 2019).

Accordingly, research finds that the average juvenile benefits from contact, particu-

larly visits: youth who receive visits are significantly less likely to violate institutional

rules (Agudelo, 2013) and experience mental health issues during confinement and are

less likely to recidivate after release (Ryan & Yang, 2005). Research also suggests some

visitors are more beneficial than others (Duwe & Clark, 2011; Mears et al., 2012; Meyers

et al., 2017). Meyers and colleagues (2017) found that parents and romantic partners

offer the most supportive visits, and Mears and his colleagues (2012) reported that visits

from spouses and significant others were the most beneficial for reducing recidivism.

What we do not yet know is whether visitor types are patterned and whether certain

combinations are more helpful than others (for an exception see: Hickert, 2021). It is

possible that because of efforts to promote visitation within juvenile residential facilities,

youth receive visits from a wide variety of visitors like parents, siblings, and extended

family. There are numerous barriers to visitation, though (e.g., financial costs, distance

to the facility, and limited visitation hours; Young et al., 2019), which could result in

some youth receiving visits from a narrower network. It is also possible that because

different relationships provide different support and services (Turanovic & Tasca, 2019),

visitation effects differ depending upon the composition of this network.

Against this backdrop, the goal of this study is to provide a better understanding of

incarcerated youths’ social networks. More specifically, using a sample of youth

released from residential placement in Florida (N = 827), this article considers whether

there are different combinations of visitors that are more common than others and

whether the visitation-recidivism relationship depends upon the composition of youths’

visitor network. Latent class analysis (LCA) is used to identify patterns of visitors in the

data, and logistic regression is used to examine whether the effects of visitation fre-

quency on recidivism differ by visitor group. This article contributes to the growing

body of work designed to understand the heterogeneity of the carceral experience gen-

erally, but the complexities of social ties during confinement, in particular. By focusing

on a sample of incarcerated youth, this study also seeks to offer greater insight into the

visitation experiences of a group typically understudied in this body of literature.

The Importance of Social Ties During Confinement

Social ties are critical for youth. In the first decade of life, children rely on parents to

provide for their basic emotional and physical needs. Children learn self-control,

healthy socialization, and appropriate behavior through their interactions with, and