Date of Award
2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
Abstract
Ex-offenders face numerous obstacles when reentering society upon their release. One of the most important obstacles to overcome is gaining employment. Relatively little empirical research has been devoted to studying factors related to employers that may affect an ex-offenders likelihood of being hired. The present study examined current ex-offender hiring trends and the use of government incentives for hiring ex-offenders. The study explored how characteristics unique to businesses, such as their size, industry type, or position of the person responsible for hiring, are related to attitudes toward hiring ex-offenders. Several measures were used to examine attitudes toward hiring ex-offenders, including scores on the Belief in Redeemability (BiR-2) scale and vignette ratings of hypothetical applicants. Past hiring behaviors in the past five years were also examined. Forty-two individuals responsible for hiring at their company participated in an online study. Nearly two-thirds of respondents had no knowledge of government incentives available for hiring ex-offenders. Over half of respondents had intentionally hired ex-offenders in the past five years, but few utilized any hiring incentives. The presence of any government incentives lead to greater willingness to hire than no incentives, and tax credits were more attractive to participants than federal bonding. Vignette ratings, BiR-2 scores, and the number of ex-offenders hired in the past differed based on business size. Few differences were found for industry type and respondent position in the business. The present research provides important information about the current landscape of ex-offender employment, as well as about the knowledge and use of government incentives for hiring. These findings also help shed light on the relationships between characteristics specific to businesses and their attitudes toward hiring ex-offenders.
Recommended Citation
Stoll, Eli L., "An Examination Of Factors Affecting Employer Attitudes Toward Hiring Ex-Offenders" (2020). All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1547.
https://scholars.indianastate.edu/etds/1547