Me? A criminal? Relationships with offenders and implicit criminal associations

The collateral consequences of criminal justice involvement on friends and families of offenders is well documented in criminological literature. One less-understood consequence is the impact of these relationships and experiences on the cognitions of friends and family members of offenders. This study examines implicit, unconscious, and explicit, or conscious cognitions of non-criminal individuals who have personal relationships with offenders versus those who do not. Moreover, the effects of reminders of past experiences, nature of the relationship, and closeness with the offender were examined. The Implicit and Explicit Criminal-Self Association Tests were used to measure implicit and explicit criminal-self associations. Results showed that those who were close with an offender and were reminded of a past experience with an offender exhibited stronger implicit associations with the group criminal in comparison to those who were not close with an offender. This research has implications for understanding the effects of relationships with offenders for non-criminal individuals.