par Fivez, Maxime;Sylin, Michel ;Van Der Linden, Jan
Référence Annual meeting of the Belgian Association for Psychological Science (18/05/2018: Ghent)
Publication Non publié, 2018-05
Poster de conférence
Résumé : When it comes to reintegration after incarceration, the former prisoner is often confronted with the necessity to find a job. In this perspective, he is quickly put in competition with other applicants who do not present the same professional experiences, nor the same stigmas. In a world where employment is valued and where obtaining a stable and well-paid job depends on qualification level, it is obvious that the level of qualification is an asset for the ex-prisoners in his quest for professional reintegration. Western (2002) showed that ex-inmates encounter more difficulties to obtain a job that lead to successful reintegration. To increase our knowledge, the presented study put forward the judgment made about an applicant to the sight of his candidacy (CV and cover letter). To this matter, an online survey was used. 105 people were asked to judge, by means of a semantic differential, a candidate who had or had not been in prison and who had a master's degree or a secondary school degree allowing him to reach the coveted position. Results show that those with a lower level of qualification are judged more negatively than individuals with higher qualifications. In addition, negative judgment is even more important if the individual in question has gone to prison.In view of these results, it seems that there is a form of negative judgment in the world of work about ex-prisoners. However, it is possible to reduce the impact of incarceration by increasing the qualification of the candidate in question.