Examining Change in Family Conflict and Family Violence After Release From Prison

• Published date: 01 June 2020
• DOI: 10.1177/0093854820913311
• Date: 01 June 2020
• Subject Matter: Articles

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2020, Vol. 47, No. 6, June 2020, 668 –687.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854820913311

Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions

© 2020 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

668

EXAMINING CHANGE IN FAMILY CONFLICT

AND FAMILY VIOLENCE AFTER RELEASE

FROM PRISON

RICHARD STANSFIELD

Rutgers University–Camden

THOMAS J. MOWEN

Bowling Green State University

LAURA NAPOLITANO

Rutgers University–Camden

JOHN H. BOMAN

Bowling Green State University

This study examines changes in family conflict and violence among a sample of adult men after release from prison. Using

longitudinal panel data on 1,282 men in the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative, cross-lagged dynamic fixed-

effects panel data models are used to examine factors that relate to family conflict and family violence perpetrated by men

after release from prison. Increased contact with family members during incarceration, as well as postrelease family support,

related to decreased family conflict, even after accounting for family conflict during incarceration. Contact was unrelated to

postrelease family violence. Interestingly, family violence prior to incarceration did not predict within-person changes in

violence postrelease. Postrelease substance use and criminal offending significantly related to postrelease family violence.

With incarceration affecting so many people nationwide, understanding how the experiences of incarceration and reentry

impacts family health and well-being should be an important consideration for correctional policy and programming.

Keywords: reentry; prison visitation; family conflict; violence; longitudinal analysis

Upon release from prison, many people seek to reestablish relationships with their fam-

ily members and intimate partners (Hairston & Oliver, 2006; Harman et al., 2007) with

high expectations for caretaking, support, and relationship quality (Comfort, 2016; Visher

& Travis, 2003). A significant portion of individuals live with family members, rely on fam-

ily members for help finding employment, and draw strength from the emotional support

offered by family following release from prison (Naser & Visher, 2006; Taylor, 2016;

Uggen et al., 2005; Western, 2018).

Studies also reveal, however, that maintaining those ties is fraught with challenges both

during and after incarceration. This may be especially true for partners and children of

AUTHORS’ NOTE: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Richard Stansfield,

Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Criminal Justice, Rutgers

University–Camden, 405-407 Cooper Street, Camden, NJ 08102; e-mail: Richard.stansfield@rutgers.edu.

913311CJBXXX10.1177/0093854820913311Criminal Justice and BehaviorStansfield et al. /

research-article2020

Stansfield et al. / FAMILY CONFLICT & VIOLENCE 669

returning individuals who feel the impact of separation during imprisonment more directly

(La Vigne et al., 2005). Negative outcomes of a partner’s incarceration may include rela-

tionship stress, dissolution of trust, infidelity, conflict, and violence (Comfort et al., 2005,

2018; Harman et al., 2007). Some of these challenges may have been present prior to incar-

ceration as part of the broader family dynamic (Giordano et al., 2019), but are likely to be

exacerbated by limited family contact (Comfort et al., 2018).

Until recently, few studies directly examined the importance of family conflict during or

after incarceration (Boman & Mowen, 2018; Mowen & Visher, 2015; Wallace et al., 2016),

and surprisingly few explored how family violence is impacted by the incarceration and

release of a partner (Comfort et al., 2018; Hairston & Oliver, 2006; Mowen & Fisher, 2019;

Turney, 2015). Yet, these two aspects of reentry are critically important for a person’s over-

all reentry success and the health and well-being of the family (Boman & Mowen, 2018;

Hairston & Oliver, 2006; Tripp, 2003).

The purpose of this study is twofold. First, with limited research exploring the mecha-

nisms by which family conflict is generated, we examine a wide range of characteristics and

experiences using cross-lagged dynamic panel models that allow us to simultaneously

assess the relationship of prerelease family conflict and intra-individual changes with

postrelease conflict. With a similarly limited quantitative literature exploring postrelease

family violence, we assess the contribution of criminal histories, incarceration experiences,

and individual changes to family violence perpetrated by adult men after release from

prison. The correlates of these related, but distinct markers of family functioning represent

an overlooked but important area of reentry research given that positive family functioning

is associated with the well-being of adults and children alike (Grych & Fincham, 1990).

STRESS AND COLLATERAL CONSEQUENCES

Much of the work exploring incarceration and changes to family dynamics have been

guided by trauma-informed theories, documenting how incarceration of one family member

is a stressor to the family system as a whole (Haney, 2018; Lopoo & Western, 2005; Turney,

2015; Turney et al., 2012). This includes a variety of substantial economic burdens to the

incarcerated individual such as reduced earnings and employment, with financial costs

often assumed by family members. Reductions in household income, costs associated with

facilitating prison visitation, and shifting responsibilities for employment and childcare

given the loss of a partner’s support in child-rearing are also well documented among fami-

lies with a loved one in prison (Bruns, 2017; Christian, 2005; Turney et al., 2012).

Although existing work on incarceration and families has favored a theoretical focus

on the collateral consequences of incarceration, a recent study by Giordano and col-

leagues (2019) places additional theoretical emphasis on the broader family context

within which incarceration unfolds, noting that family life both before and after incar-

ceration offers recurrent and observable aspects that influence behavior such as conflict

and violence. The authors leveraged social learning theory to explain how a family mem-

ber’s lived experience over a longer period may set up the conditions for various prob-

lematic behaviors. Several ongoing conditions, including prior offending and antisocial

behavior, have significant impacts on family life above and beyond one major life event

such as an incarceration (Giordano et al., 2019). Similarly, we seek to examine how pre-

existing family support, family conflict, and family criminal justice history contribute to