RT Article
T1 The language of stigmatization and the mark of violence: experimental evidence on the social construction and use of criminal record stigma
JF Criminology
VO 55
IS 3
SP 664
OP 690
A1 Denver, Megan
A1 Pickett, Justin T.
A1 Bushway, Shawn
LA English
YR 2017
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/157070693X
AB After years of stagnation, labeling theory has recently gained new empirical support. Simultaneously, new policy initiatives have attempted to restructure criminal record stigma to reduce reintegration barriers, and subsequent recidivism, driven by labeling. For example, in a recent Department of Justice (DOJ) language policy, person-first terms (e.g., “person with a conviction”) were substituted for crime-first terms (e.g., “offender”). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has also issued guidelines to structure how decision-makers use criminal records. Unfortunately, little is currently known about the social construction and use of criminal record stigma or the potential effects of such policy changes. In the current study, we provide two unique empirical tests. In study 1, we examine the social construction of stigma by testing DOJ's language policy with experimental data from a nationally representative sample of American adults (N = 996). In study 2, we use a separate nationwide experiment (N = 1,540) to examine how the contextualization of criminal records influences social exclusion decisions. Across both studies, we find consistent evidence of a “mark of violence.” The public perceives that individuals with violent convictions are the most likely to commit future crimes, and it is more supportive of excluding these individuals from employment. Crime-first terms exacerbate perceived recidivism risk for individuals with violent convictions.
K1 Labeling theory
K1 Criminal record
K1 Background checks
K1 Stigma
K1 Public opinion
K1 Labeling Ansatz
K1 Strafregister
K1 Vorstrafe
K1 Öffentliche Meinung
DO 10.1111/1745-9125.12145