The Lasting Effects of Incarcerating Juveniles in Adult Facilities: Examining the Impact on Employment and Income from Age 18-37

From the abstract:

“Contemporary scholarship has demonstrated the negative effects of incarcerating juveniles in adult facilities, coinciding with a growing concern about the long-lasting effects of this practice in the United States. The current study served to expand this literature by examining the effects of being incarcerated in an adult facility as a juvenile on employment and income outcomes from 18 to 37 years of age. Using the NLSY-1997, the current study examined if juvenile incarceration in adult facilities influenced the average number of weeks worked and income earned from 18 to 37 years of age and the number of years until an individual worked a full week and earned federal minimum wage. The disparate impact of juvenile incarceration in adult facilities across racial groups was also examined. The results demonstrated that juvenile incarceration in an adult facility was associated with negative employment and income outcomes during early adulthood. The findings highlighted that Black individuals are more susceptible to the economic consequences of being incarcerated as a juvenile in an adult facility. The theoretical implications of the findings are discussed, suggesting that incarcerating juveniles in adult facilities should be re-evaluated given its long-term consequences for employment and income in early adulthood. “