Incarceration Of Fathers Research Articles

When A Father Goes to Jail: Legal Latitude and the Implications of Cross-Cultural Issues

The following article represents my testimony in a federal court case held in October 1994 in Philadelphia, PA. At the point when I was asked to participate in the case, the defendant had already been found guilty but was asking for leniency in sentencing under a clause in the law that allows for the consideration of cultural factors. I, in my capacity as a cultural anthropologist with an expertise in the Middle East, was called on as an expert witness to testify on the possible consequences of a father's incarceration on the lives of his daughters. This paper illustrates how anthropologists can contribute to legal proceedings that incorporate a cultural defense.

History of spouse violence against mother: Correlated risks and unique effects in child mental health

The present study examined mental health risk associated with lifetime occurrence of spouse violence against mother among 303 10 to 12 year-old inner-city children. Maternal report data showed a 30% prevalence rate for lifetime occurrence of spouse violence in this sample. Results of correlational analyses indicated that violence against mother was associated with several other historical risk factors including divorce, parental drinking problems, and incarceration of father. Multiple regression analyses controlling for the effects of demographic and historical risk factors that correlated with violence against mother revealed that violence accounted for significant unique variance in girls' self-reports of conduct problems, but did not account for unique variance in boys' symptomatology. Implications of these results for understanding the effects of violence against mother on children and for the development of empirically based interventions for children in those families are discussed.

Attributing responsibility in cases of father-daughter sexual abuse

This study examined the effects of social workers' attributions of responsibility on their strategies in cases of father-daughter sexual abuse. Social workers read three vignettes illustrating such abuse. Following each vignette, they rated the degree of responsibility they attributed to the father, mother, and daughter described in each vignette, and the likelihood that they would recommend the incarceration of the father or the placement of the daughter into foster care. The more responsibility workers attributed to the father and daughter and the less they attributed to the mother, the more likely they were to recommend the father's incarceration. The more responsibility they attributed to the father, the more likely they were to recommend that the daughter be placed into foster care.

Temporary Single Parenthood--The Case of Prisoners' Families

The plight of prisoners' children was investigated. The study delineates the adjustment problems children experienced as a result of their separation from the father, and identifies the predicting variables affecting successful adjustment to father's incarceration. The study was undertaken within the wider context of family system functioning and family relations. Data were collected through structured personal interviews with 118 Jewish prisoners' wives-mothers whose husbands were first-timers serving terms of 13 months to life imprisonment. The interview schedule was based on the predictor variables of family background, family systems functioning as measured by the Family Resource Inventory and Coping with Separation Inventory. The criterion variable was measured with the Children's Adjustment Inventory. Findings indicated predicaments in three areas: interactional, emotional, and health and behavioral. Through the use of discriminant analysis two clusters of predictor variables emerged. Ability of the children to adjust successfully to father's imprisonment was related to familial and personal resources of the mother and to the stigmatizing effects of the criminal event. Clinical intervention strategies are recommended.

Parents in prison: A child abuse and neglect prevention strategy

Parents in Prison is an innovative family support service housed at the Tennessee State Prison for Men. Developed in response to inmates' recognition of the need for child abuse and neglect prevention services relevant to men who are in prison, the program model has potential for becoming a major service delivery strategy. Leadership for Parents in Prison is provided by an inmate committee which receives consultation and assistance from a community advisory board and an institutional sponsor. Program components—correspondence and classroom courses. monthly events featuring community guest speakers, and family-focused social activities and projects—address family needs during incarceration and upon return to community living. These diverse components and the flexible service delivery format permit widespread inmate participation not readily available in a prison setting. Parents in Prison successes demonstrate that the period of incarceration can be used to improve parental skills and knowledge and to strengthen family relationships. They also demonstrate the viability of a family support service which relies on inmate leadership, community volunteer participation, and institutional support. The future success of this model depends on replication in other prison settings, dissemination of the program products which have been and continue to be developed, and rigorous, systematic examination of the impact that participation has on child abuse and neglect problems associated with a father's incarceration.