Testing Mechanisms: Carceral Contact and Political Participation

Brandon R. Davis

Social Science Quarterly, 2020, vol. 101, issue 2, 909-924

Abstract: Objectives This article tests two of the mechanisms—civic duty and governmental trust—through which carceral contact is theorized to be affecting political participation. This article does not examine whether criminal justice contact affects participation, but rather tests the mechanisms through which carceral contact is theorized to be affecting participation. Methods I employ the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Wave III) and utilize four different statistical analysis methods. Results I find that carceral contact has a significant direct effect and indirect effect on participation. Twenty‐one and 24 percent of the negative effect on participation is an indirect effect of carceral contact on feelings of civic duty and governmental trust, respectively. Conclusions My results strongly suggest that the causal arrow points in my hypothesized direction—carceral contact depresses levels of civic duty and governmental trust, which subsequently suppresses political participation.

Date: 2020
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