Despite the well-established link between homelessness and incarceration, very little qualitative research has focused on the social processes that underlie this connection. This study draws on 19 in-depth interviews with incarcerated men who reported preprison housing instability, supplemented with 5 interviews with formerly-incarcerated men experiencing homelessness, to explore the gendered nature of the relationship between homelessness and incarceration.

The findings indicate that the homelessness-incarceration connection cannot be understood fully or disrupted without considering the significance of age-graded cultural scripts regarding masculinity.