How Students From Different Economic Backgrounds View Criminal Records When Making Hiring Decisions

Abstract

Criminal record holders face many barriers to successful integration into society, including difficulty obtaining employment. Previous research has identified that the stigma surrounding criminal records strongly negatively influences hiring decisions. However, prior studies have not compared the views of employers from different socioeconomic backgrounds. This paper explores whether students from school districts with different average income levels have different perspectives on the significance of a nonviolent criminal record when making hypothetical employment decisions. I distributed a mixed-method survey to two different student populations: a school district with a high median household income and another with a significantly lower median household income. The quantitative portion of the survey used a Likert scale that had respondents answering questions about the employability of a person with a nonviolent criminal record based on four categories: nondescript, professional attributes, crime-specific, and context of job function/industry. A chi-squared test established a statistical significant difference between the two groups' responses to the nondescript question, while the other three categories were used to investigate the complexities of that finding. Next, the qualitative portion of the survey used an open-ended question and was analyzed using a thematic analysis, revealing differences in themes. I concluded that, while both schools have a significant portion of students who would not hire criminal record holders, in general, students from the school district with the lower median household income had greater concerns and were less likely to hire someone with a nonviolent criminal record than students in the higher-income school district.