Research on emerging adulthood has focused on the experiences of middle-class college-bound Americans, with limited research on low-income racial and ethnic minorities who do not pursue higher education. Among college-bound Americans, emerging adulthood is a protected time for growth and exploration: Youth leave home, complete their education, consider career options, and essentially “try out” adult life. Less educated, unemployed youth are more likely to experience emerging adulthood as a period of “roleless floundering.”

Current and former prisoners are especially likely to flounder during this transitional period. They have limited work experience prior to entering prison, and most prisoners have earned less than a high school diploma or equivalent. Upon release, most former prisoners find themselves relegated to low-wage, temporary and informal employment in the secondary labor market. They have limited opportunities for career advancement and wage growth, and many prisoners remain unstably attached to the labor market long after release from prison. Ongoing poor wage prospects reduce prisoners’ incentives to engage in licit work, and this may increase the likelihood that they return to criminal activity.

This paper examines labor market engagement and recidivism among a sample of young, high-risk, male former prisoners.  This paper examines whether quality employment reduces criminal activity. It presents a model of emerging adult men’s employment transitions during their first 15 months of release from prison.  The model incorporates factors that shape individuals’ incentives to enter and remain in the labor market, to identify factors that influence their post-release employment outcomes.  It presents the effects of within-individual changes in employment status on individuals’ probabilities of committing new crimes.

The paper also presents findings on the effect of young men’s labor force attachment and employment quality on financial problems, psychological wellbeing, and criminal involvement. Employment alleviates financial pressures that mediate the relationship between employment, diminished psychological functioning, and crime.  Financial problems trigger a cascade of negative emotional states that increase men’s psychological distress and reduce feelings of self-efficacy and self-control.  Men who express hopelessness and frustration due to ongoing economic difficulties often state that they feel like giving up, whether on finding work, supporting their families, paying their legal debts, or avoiding criminal activity.  Diminished psychological wellbeing limits the extent to which former prisoners feel they can resist criminal activity and increases the likelihood of ongoing criminal justice involvement.