5.5a Stigma

A criminal record confers a stigma, which is a negative mark on one’s status. Pager’s (2003) classic experimental audit study of the intersecting characteristics of race and criminal background found that a criminal background hurt the job prospects of Black men more than White men. Pager used an audit study. An audit study enables the researcher to test for discrimination by using individuals (or auditors) closely matched on all characteristics except those being tested. The researcher can control the traits under study to learn how they affect their experiences.

Pager tested for racial discrimination by matching two Black men and two White men for physical characteristics like height and weight. She had them send job applications that reported similar, yet false, educational and work histories. They posed as job seekers and went as far as they could in the job search process (asking for an application to an interview) but varied in sharing their (false) criminal record. If asked during a job interview, the men were to report having served 18 months in prison for cocaine possession with the intent to distribute. Her research team audited 350 employers during the study.

Pager found that with or without a criminal record, White men received more callbacks than Black men. Moreover, White men with criminal records received more callbacks than Black men without. Her findings suggest that the effect of a criminal background differs along racial lines. Overall, the stigma conferred by a criminal record had a more adverse impact on Black men compared to White men. More recent research confirms that a criminal record still hinders employment prospects (Lindsay, 2022; Santos et al., 2023)

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Research Finds that a Criminal Record Hurts Employment Opportunities