Outside in: The role of visitation on within-prison and post-release behavior

Abstract

While research generally documents that prison visitation constrains antisocial behavior in custody and after release, recent work documents the importance of the frequency and timing of these visits. Nevertheless, there remains a limited understanding regarding how visitation characteristics affect behavior inside and outside of custody. The current study improves our understanding of visitation for incarcerated persons by assessing visitation patterns in the year preceding release to predict misconduct and post-release legal contact. Data come from agency records from a large Northeastern state correctional system and include approximately 4000 incarcerated men. Group-based trajectory modeling is used to assess groups of incarcerated persons based on visitation patterns in the year preceding release. Relationships between (a) group membership and in-custody infractions and (b) group membership and parole violations (new offense and technical violations) are explored via bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. Equality of coefficients tests examine whether visit patterns pose congruent effects across contexts. Findings demonstrate negative relationships between high-rate visit patterns and misconduct and parole violations. Patterns display a non-linear relationship. Importantly, visit patterns pose general congruency across custodial and post-release contexts and behaviors. Correctional policies should continue to expand and encourage visitation to aid custodial compliance and post-release success.