EXPLORING THE ROLE OF MENTAL HEALTH IN PATHWAYS FROM INCARCERATION TO OFFENDING

Abstract

Research on the link between incarceration and offending largely finds a null or positive relationship – that is, incarceration either has no impact on future offending or it increases the likelihood of future offending. However, there is a dearth of research examining the pathways to post-incarceration offending, particularly with respect to the role of mental health as a potential mediator or moderator. This dissertation explored these pathways using the Stress Process Paradigm and the concept of stress proliferation as a framework. Using 12 years of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, the current research examined mental health issues as a moderator and a mediator between incarceration and three measures of offending (delinquency variety score, binary delinquency, and arrest). Further, this dissertation examined how mental health issues as a mediator between incarceration and offending may vary by race and sex using moderated mediation. Finally, the influence of multiple post-incarceration stressors (specifically, being unemployed,being unmarried, and having physical health issues) on offending were examined, although mental health itself was examined as the primary interest and driver of differential offending outcomes. Results indicated that incarceration played a smaller role in the pathway to offending than expected, and mental health played a much larger role than expected – highlighting the importance of considering mental health when investigating the pathways to offending and other outcomes. The findings and their implications for theory and future research are discussed.