Drug Use and Crime after Incarceration: The Role of Family Support and Family Conflict

People who were previously incarcerated overwhelmingly cite family interaction as among the most important factors in successful reentry and desistance. Yet, little research has explicitly sought to explore the relationship between family support and family conflict among former prisoners and their effect on reentry. Utilizing social control theory from a life course perspective, the current project explores patterns of drug use and criminal desistance of people who were previously incarcerated (n = 740) and the relationship to family support and conflict. Results indicate higher levels of family conflict coincide with increased odds of drug use and crime immediately following release from prison. A multinomial logistic model indicates patterns of drug use at specific points in time directly coincide with patterns of family conflict, but not family support. The implications of these findings are addressed.