The Effect of Reading Prisoner Poetry on Stigma and Public Attitudes: Results from a Multigroup Survey Experiment

• Published date: 01 January 2022
• Author: Bengt George,Kelly M. Socia,Christopher P. Dum,Halle M. Neiderman
• Date: 01 January 2022
• DOI: 10.1177/00328855211069127
• Subject Matter: Articles

The Effect of Reading

Prisoner Poetry on

Stigma and Public

Attitudes: Results

from a Multigroup

Survey Experiment

Christopher P. Dum

1

, Kelly M. Socia

2

,

Bengt George

1

, and Halle M. Neiderman

3

Abstract

We examine how public attitudes toward currently/formerly incarcerated

people and their reentry into society are affected by consuming information

about imprisoned people. Over 1,500 respondents from a national online

survey were randomly assigned one of f‌ive sources of written information

about currently and formerly incarcerated people (CFIP) (three informative

pieces and two sets of incarceree poetry). They then reported their views

toward them and support for reentry policies. While no differences in sup-

port for reentry initiatives across conditions were uncovered, those reading

poetry with a humanizing theme applied the least amount of stigma toward

currently/formerly incarcerated people.

Keywords

reentry, public opinion, prison, stigma, narrative humanization

1

Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

2

University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Lowell, MA, USA

3

American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon

Corresponding Author:

Christopher P. Dum, Kent State University Department of Sociology, PO Box 5190, Kent,

OH, 44242, USA.

Email: cdum@kent.edu

Article

The Prison Journal

2022, Vol. 102(1) 3–24

© 2022 SAGE Publications

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/00328855211069127

journals.sagepub.com/home/tpj

Introduction

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, at the end of 2019, there were

over 1.4 million people in America’s prisons (Carson, 2020). In 2019,

608,026 people were released from state and federal prison systems

(Carson, 2020). Because over 90% of incarcerated individuals will be

released from prison (Petersilia, 2005), prisoner reentry policy is of key

importance.

Unfortunately, three-quarters of formerly incarcerated people (FIP) are

re-arrested within f‌ive years of release (Durose et al., 2014), related to the

fact that preventing recidivism requires success in many areas (Council of

State Governments Justice Center, 2015). One signif‌icant barrier to successful

reentry is the stigma applied to currently and formerly incarcerated people

(CFIP).

An often cited conceptualization of stigma comes from Erving Goffman,

who describes stigma as “an attribute that is deeply discrediting”(1963,

p. 3). Thus, a criminal conviction becomes a deeply discrediting attribute

that can negatively impact future life chances (Link & Phelan, 2001). The

feeling of stigma that members of the public have of FIP can determine

their ability to f‌ind jobs (Pager, 2003), to secure housing (Israelsen-Hartley,

2008), to return to imprisonment (Stolzenberg et al., 2020), and to engage

in social networks (Hirschf‌ield & Piquero, 2010), all of which are important

aspects of reentry.

In order to understand the stigma of imprisonment, research indicates that

familiarity with a particular group can affect feelings towards that group

(Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006; Rade et al., 2016). Specif‌ically, interpersonal

contact with members of a stigmatized group may decrease the stigma

applied to them (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). Further, there is

limited research suggesting that stigma also applies to those with criminal his-

tories (Hirschf‌ield & Piquero, 2010; Rade et al., 2016). Yet, facilitating wide

scale personal contact between the public and CFIP is not an easy task.

Alternatives to interpersonal contact may increase the public’s familiarity

with these groups. For instance, sharing information through forms of

media may provide this proxy for interpersonal contact. To date, little

research has explored this issue.

This study examines how exposure to information about people with incar-

ceration histories can reduce public stigma directed toward them, as well as

increase support for reentry policies. Using data from a national online

panel survey, we conducted an experiment that randomly presented one of

f‌ive types of information about CFIP to respondents. Feelings of stigma

and levels of policy support were then compared across groups. In the next

4The Prison Journal 102(1)