Contextualizing Stigma: The Impact of School Cultural and Structural Contexts on Interpersonal Exclusion Following Criminal Justice Contact

Abstract

Criminal justice contact is often associated with weakened social ties, a process referred to as interpersonal exclusion (Jacobsen, 2020). Yet, most existing research assumes that the stigma of such contact is experienced similarly across settings, paying limited attention to contextual conditions that can foster or mitigate stigma. This study argues that context shapes stigma tied to criminal justice contact by influencing its perceptibility (i.e., the extent to which the contact is known to others) and dis-credibility (i.e., the extent to which the contact harms one’s social reputation). To capture both dimensions, the study introduces novel measures of cultural and structural context. Drawing on longitudinal data from a school-based study with rich adolescent peer network information and employing stochastic actor-oriented models, it examines how the cultural and structural contexts of grade cohorts in middle and high school influence adolescent friendship ties following police contact. It also explores whether the associations between police contact and friendship ties, as well as the moderating role of contextual factors, differ between middle and high school due to broader contextual distinctions. Findings indicate that police contact is associated with weakened adolescent friendship ties in middle school but not in high school. Cultural norms regarding the popularity of delinquent students moderate this association in middle school, whereas structural features of network closure moderate this association in both middle and high school. These findings underscore the contextual nature of stigma, highlight the role of cultural and structural environments in shaping interpersonal consequences of criminal justice contact, and offer implications for promoting the social inclusion of justice-involved youth.