Derek Kreager, Penn State University

Co-Sponsor - Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice

About the Presentation

This presentation overviews theory, methods, and preliminary results from a study of inmate social networks in units of two Pennsylvania women’s prisons. The study aims to reveal each units' informal organization and culture using innovative social network data that maps the unit's friendship network, status hierarchy, and romantic ties. Network analyses will test hypotheses for the sources of prison status and the associations between inmate social position and outcomes such as prison victimization, mental health, official misconduct, and family visitation. Investigators will also conduct pre-release and post-release community interviews of paroled respondents and their children to understand how the women and their families adjust to life after incarceration. Finally, the study will analyze long-term arrest and reincarceration outcomes for all released inmates in the surveyed prison units. 

About the Speaker

Dr. Derek Kreager is a Distinguished Professor of Criminology, Sociology, and Demography, Director of the Justice Center for Research, and associate of the Population Research Institute at Pennsylvania State University. He received his M.A. and PhD from the University of Washington and his B.S. from the United States Military Academy. His research lies at the intersection of social networks, crime, and the life course. Most recently, he has led the portfolio of Prison Inmate Networks Studies (PINS) focused on the social networks, health and re-entry experiences of male and female inmates in Pennsylvania state prisons. This work has been supported by grants from NSF, NIH, and NIJ, and resulted in papers published in American Sociological Review, Social Networks, and Justice Quarterly.