Criminal backgrounds and Ban The Box research have become increasingly prevalent in recent years, as many individuals with a criminal background seek employment. This dissertation examines how the characteristics of one’s criminal background, specifically offense type (misdemeanor vs. felony) and offense severity (nonviolent vs. violent), influence hiring ranking preferences, with applicant age and gender as moderating variables. Building on seminal field experiments, stigma theory and the theory of planned behavior, this research extends beyond simple binary distinction of offense type and severity. Using a sample of 314 participants, respondents evaluated and ranked 16 pre-employment criminal background check summaries. Ordinal logistic regression was used to analyze the data. The findings indicate that both offense type and severity significantly influenced hiring preferences, with applicants with felony and violent convictions ranked lower. Age partially moderated these relationships, while gender was not a significant moderator.
