The Impact of Maternal Incarceration on Emotional and Behavioral Outcomes: Research Findings from a National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health

Zina T Mcgee

doi:10.15226/2471-6529/3/1/00124

Abstract

Data for this study were drawn from quantitative analyses derived from secondary statistics from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), which is a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7-12 in the United States to examine the impact of maternal incarceration on emotional and behavioral outcomes among adolescents. It was hypothesized that maternal incarceration would increase the number of risk factors among adolescents including delinquency, victimization, emotional outcomes and drug usage. For this project, the survey data were analyzed on self-identified non-white (minority) participants reporting criminal justice involvement measured through lifetime arrest, age at first arrest, number of pre-18 arrests and number of post-18 arrests as behavioral outcomes. Measures of self-reported depression and anxiety were also included to examine mental health outcomes. Results from hierarchical multiple linear regressions indicated that having a mother incarcerated explains variance in emotional outcomes and behavioral risk influences such as symptomatology, criminal involvement, and drug use over and beyond sociodemographic factors including gender, educational level and family income. Policy implications and suggestions for future research are addressed. You can submit your Manuscripts at: https://symbiosisonlinepublishing.com/submitManuscript.php

Highlights

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and an estimated 52% of state and 63% of federal inmates reported being parents to 1.7 million children [11]
As studies repeatedly show an increase in the rates of detainment among women, findings indicate that maternal incarceration has been associated with inappropriate and inconsistent discipline, youth problem behaviors, and serious delinquency [10][16][7]
The findings of this study suggest that individuals with a history of parental incarceration have a higher prevalence of health problems, emphasizing the need for additional research on mechanisms linking parental incarceration to both physical and mental health outcomes related to childhood adversity

Summary

Introduction

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and an estimated 52% of state and 63% of federal inmates reported being parents to 1.7 million children [11]. The increase of incarcerated women has negatively affected American families; nearly two-thirds incarcerated women in state prisons in 2007 were mothers [16][5].While there is a growing body of literature studying the effects of incarceration on children, much of this research has focused solely on either incarceration in general or on paternal incarceration. These studies have revealed that youth whose parents were imprisoned at some time were nearly five times more likely to be incarcerated in adulthood compared to youth separated from parents for other reasons [18]. High levels of delinquency among this group suggests that generational patterns of violence may exist among the youth who live in the homes of incarcerated mothers [12], and social interaction often defines how parental incarceration, family functioning, parenting strategies, and child adjustment might be correlated [10]

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