A new study indicate that both men and women with permanent tattoos are at a significantly higher risk of arrest, conviction, and incarceration compared to those without tattoos, potentially due to stigmatization. This correlation persists even after adjusting for self-reported criminal behavior, levels of self-control, associations with delinquent peers, and key demographic variables. The study was published in Deviant Behavior.
Stigmatization is the process of labeling, stereotyping, and discriminating against individuals or groups based on certain characteristics, attributes, or conditions that are considered socially undesirable or different. Stigmatized attributes can be race, gender, sexual orientation, mental health, disabilities, and more. Stigmatization can result in social exclusion, bias, and inequitable treatment, often causing detrimental effects on the well-being and life chances of the stigmatized.
Studies have shown that stigma also impact reactions of the criminal justice system. Consequently, individuals with stigmatized characteristics are more likely to be processed through the criminal justice system, regardless of their actual innocence or guilt. Such individuals are also more likely to be found guilty and to have punishments imposed on them.
One feature that has caused a lot of debate among researchers are tattoos. On the one hand, individuals with tattoos are much more frequent among prison inmates than among the general population. Additionally, studies have shown that having a tattoo is associated with both violent and non-violent delinquency. In contrast, studies on the general population indicate that having a tattoo cannot be considered a cause of acts of crime and delinquency.
Study author Rima Dzhansarayeva and her colleagues wanted to explore whether individuals with tattoos have different odds of being processed through the criminal justice system compared to those without tattoos. They were interested in the whole criminal justice process – from arrest to incarceration.
To this end, the researchers analyzed data from the first four waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), which contains longitudinal data from a large cohort of U.S. middle and high school students and their caregivers. The data collection began in 1994-1995, with the fourth wave occurring in 2007-2008 when the majority of participants were in their twenties and thirties.
The study utilized data from 20,745 adolescents and 17,700 caregivers who completed surveys at the study’s inception, as well as those from this group who participated in subsequent surveys, with the number of participants dwindling to 15,701 by the final wave.
The researchers examined participants’ responses to questions about arrests, convictions, and incarcerations, as well as whether they had tattoos. They also considered various assessments of criminogenic tendencies, including measures of violent and non-violent delinquent behaviors, self-control (using a scale developed by the researchers), exposure to delinquent peers (assessing the problematic behaviors of close friends), and poverty and economic disadvantage (determined by the use of public assistance).
The results indicated that men are more than twice as likely to be arrested, almost four times more likely to be convicted, and three times more likely to be incarcerated than women. Men were also more likely to have permanent tattoos and reported higher levels of delinquency. Men and women exhibited similar levels of exposure to delinquent peers and self-control.
Individuals with tattoos reported higher levels of delinquency, greater exposure to delinquent peers, and were more likely to be receiving public assistance. The proportion of tattooed individuals was lower among White participants compared to other races.
Men with tattoos were over 2.5 times more likely to be arrested, 1.8 times more likely to be convicted, and twice as likely to be incarcerated compared to men without tattoos. Women with tattoos faced 1.75 times higher odds of being arrested, 1.68 times higher odds of being convicted, and 1.9 times higher odds of being incarcerated compared to women without tattoos. These odds were calculated while accounting for all other study factors related to criminal justice outcomes.
“The results revealed that, for males and females, having a permanent tattoo was associated with an increased risk of being arrested, convicted, and incarcerated even after controlling for the effects of self-reported crime and delinquency, levels of self-control, exposure to delinquent peers, and key demographic factors. Taken together, these results suggest that having a permanent tattoo may have a labeling effect that is used to process persons through the criminal justice system,” the study authors concluded.
The study makes an important contribution to the scientific understanding of stigmatization. However, it also has limitations that need to be taken into account. Notably, data on permanent tattoos were collected by just a single yes-no question. The study did not consider any details such as the number of tattoos, their sizes, and whether the tattoo is visible. Additionally, criminogenic influences were measured solely using very simple self-reports. Studies using more detailed assessments of these factors might yield different results.
The study, “Tattoos as a Stigmatizing Label Implicated in Being Processed Through the Criminal Justice System”, was authored by Dzhansarayeva Rima, Nonna Aldabegenova, Assel Sharipova, Gulzagira Atakhanova, and Kevin M. Beaver.