Exploring the social ties and diversity in the incarceration experience of Hispanic/Latino/Spanish individuals

Abstract

The study starts by examining descriptive differences between incarcerated Hispanic/Latino/Spanish subgroups. Then, using three measures of social ties as dependent variables, explores whether using Hispanic/Latino/Spanish subgroup categories, as compared to a single category, reveals otherwise obscured differences. Compared to other subgroups Mexicans had a higher percentage of males and married individuals, and a lower percentage of individuals who were previously arrested. Puerto Rican/other Caribbeans had a higher percentage who were 29 years or younger. Regression analyses (N = 5,967) showed that before incorporating controls, Mexican individuals, compared to White individuals, had a higher likelihood of receiving letters or making calls. Collectively, these results underscore the need for further understanding ethnic identity and how this identity is associated with criminological experiences and outcomes.

Keywords:

• Ethnicity
• Hispanic
• jail
• Latino
• prison

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to the incarcerated individuals who shared their insights and experiences through their participation in the National Inmate Survey. The author also thanks the Bureau of Justice Statistics and RTI International for their efforts to collect the data used for the study, and the team at Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research for their assistance accessing and using these data. She also thanks Dan Mears for his comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. An earlier draft of this paper’s findings were presented at the American Society of Criminology’s 2022 Annual Meeting and at a faculty-student colloquium at Arizona State University. Any errors are those of the author.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Notably, approximately 27% of the dropped individuals were Hispanic/Latino/Spanish. This limitation should be considered when interpreting the results.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Andrea N. Montes

Andrea N. Montes, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at Arizona State University, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 411 North Central Avenue, Suite 600, Phoenix, Arizona 85004, email ([email protected]). Her work has appeared in Justice Quarterly, Crime & Delinquency, Criminology & Public Policy, and Criminal Justice and Behavior. Her research focuses on theories of crime and punishment, incarceration experiences, privatization of corrections, and school policing and school safety.