Imprisoned Parent Research Articles

Child support by an imprisoned parent

This article presents the results of the study on selected aspects of child support by an imprisoned parent. The study was based on the analysis of the existing data which included reports published by the Ministry of Justice and the organizational units of the Prison Service. Using the gathered data, a socio-demographic characteristic of imprisoned persons obliged to pay child support has been prepared. Furthermore, posts on several online forums were also treated as the existing data for this study. Their analysis made it possible to, among others, determine what types of problems in connection with child support by an imprisoned parent were perceived by the other parent taking custody of the child. It has been shown that on average, every fifth imprisoned person (in a penitentiary or remand centre) is obliged to pay child support. Among those persons, a clear and growing share is that of persons convicted of not paying child support. It has been found that incarceration does not really help with executing child support payments. Over 50% of imprisoned persons obliged to pay child support has no possibility to earn money. For those who work for remuneration, on account of child support payments, the amounts are deducted several times less than the amount of the average child support in the country. It has also been recognized that some parents do not know how to sue the other incarcerated parent for child support or do not want to apply for alimony because, for example, they believe that they will thus worsen the situation of the incarcerated parent. In conclusion it was stated the child support enforcement only at the imprisonment stage is a delayed action. Furthermore, author’s doubts are also raised regarding the decision to incarcerate persons for the offense of non-alimony, among others, due to the high costs of maintaining prisoners, and because of the stigmatizing nature of imprisonment sanctions.

Influence of parental imprisonment on children’s prosocial behavior: The mediating role of family environment

A parent serving a sentence changes the family environment, which influences the prosocial behavior of their children. Based on data from the “Research on the Health Status of Children in Difficult Families,” this study examined the prosocial behavior of children with an incarcerated father/mother. In addition, using structural equation modeling, it analyzed this influence on their prosocial behavior from the perspectives of the family material and spiritual environment. Compared to children without a parent in prison, children with an imprisoned parent had relatively poor prosocial behavior. Regarding the influence of an imprisoned parent on their children’s prosocial behavior, the family environment played an intermediary role: an imprisoned parent had an indirect influence on their children’s prosocial behavior, mainly by influencing the family material and spiritual environments; the indirect effects of which were −0.117 and −0.027, respectively. For children with an imprisoned parent, stakeholders should value not only their family material environment but also a good spiritual family environment to promote healthy mental and physical development, which is of great practical significance for the development of healthy personality traits in children and contributes to positive and harmonious development in society.

ЗВ’ЯЗОК ТРАВМАТИЧНОГО ДИТЯЧОГО ДОСВІДУ З ТОЛЕРАНТНІСТЮ ОСОБИСТОСТІ В ДОРОСЛОМУ ВІЦІ

The article justifies theoretically the problem of traumatic childhood experience and its connection with personality tolerance in adulthood. A childhood trauma has certain effects on occurrence of depression, anxiety, neuroticism, cognitive disorders, on a tendency to commit suicide or use psychotropic substances, as well as on worldview, relationships with other people and the quality of life in adulthood, which has been theoretically substantiated. The performed empirical study indicated that a significant part of the examined people had traumatic childhood experiences: lack of food; bullying and physical violence by adults or peers; loss of one or both parents; living with a person who had mental disorders; physical violence between parents or guardians; lack of love from parents or existing feeling of own uselessness; sexual harassment or sexual violence. In adulthood, these people were prone to trauma: humiliation, deprivation, betrayal, abandonment, injustice. Childhood traumatic experiences are associated with certain types of tolerance. The absence of one parent is associated with emotional instability; physical violence and bullying by peers correlates with intolerance to uncertainty; certain types of a parent’s addiction is linked with the child’s conservatism; an imprisoned parent is associated with the desire to make an individual’s partner comfortable to him/her, practical approach to partners; feeling of being unloved by parents correlates with detachment from others. Childhood humiliation, physical abuse by parents and bullying by peers are associated with uncertainty intolerance in adulthood. Experienced betrayal, feelings of unloved are associated with conservatism, detachment from others and the desire to make other people more comfortable for oneself. In general, a traumatic childhood experience can determinate a tendency to social anxiety, low self-esteem, tolerance for the peculiarities of others, many social fears, an inability to listen to oneself, pessimism, as well as an inability to forgive mistakes and detachment from others because of the fear to re-experience betrayal from a loved one.

Co-parenting in families with an imprisoned parent: A systematic review

Objectives: We explored the literature to investigate the main results of research into the practice of co-parenting in families with an imprisoned parent.Moreover, we aimed to point out the theoretical approaches used to analyze coparenting in the case of parental detention and the methods by which co-parenting is recognized and measured. Method: We used the EBSCO platform to explore the databases PsycINFO and Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection.First, we researched parenting OR co-parenting AND (incarcerated mother OR incarcerated father); the next search was for family AND (incarceration OR prison OR jail). Then we searched for fathers OR mothers AND (incarceration OR prison OR jail), and the final search attempt was for wives OR partners OR husbands AND (incarceration OR prison OR jail). Results: After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, we selected 14 studies for this literature review.Conclusions: The number of studies about co-parenting in families dealing with parental detention is limited. Most of what is known about the co-caregiving system or alliance and children's adjustment has come from studies of families with young children. The methodological procedures used to explore the relationships between incarcerated parents, children, and home caregivers were individually focused. What emerged from this literature review is the need to recognize the triadic nature of family relationships and therefore the need to adopt procedures that would allow us to analyze the triadic processes characterizing a family system.

Contact experiences and needs of children of prisoners before and during COVID-19: Findings from an Australian survey.

Most of the research examining children visiting a parent in prison indicates that visits have a positive impact on children's well‐being, their connection to the imprisoned parent and the parent themselves. However, the COVID‐19 pandemic brought about a significant change to prison visits worldwide, with limits or bans on face‐to‐face contact. Understanding the experiences and needs of children during this period remains limited. This paper presents the findings of a survey of 84 carers of 184 children across Australia, investigating children's experiences of contact with their imprisoned parent both before and during COVID‐19 restrictions. Although most carers reported maintaining contact during restrictions, a range of difficulties were noted: reduced availability; the effect of prison‐based issues, including lockdowns; and the suitability of video/telephone visits for young children. Some described the benefits of videoconferencing, including reduced travel time and cost, and not needing to take children into a prison environment. Despite this, respondents typically described the negative impact of restrictions, and lack of physical contact, on children's emotional well‐being. Our findings suggest that, for video visiting to be successful, it should be complementary to in‐person visits, tailored to the needs of children, with support offered to families.

Symbiotic Harms of Imprisonment and the Effect on Children’s Right to Family Life

Abstract Measures taken by governments to address covid-19 in prisons, have impacted significantly on the lives and rights of children. There has been consequential interference with children’s rights to family life and to contact with a parent from whom they have been separated. Since the onset of the pandemic, prisoners in many jurisdictions have lived under restricted regimes with almost universal bans on family visits. Children have not had face-to-face contact with their imprisoned parents, and alternate forms of contact have not always been available to them. Using survey and interview data collected during lockdowns in the UK and Australia, we consider the implications of the interference with the rights of children with an imprisoned parent. Focusing on their relationships, health and wellbeing and using the concept of symbiotic harms, we note how children’s experiences of the cessation of contact interacted with parents’ and caregivers’ experiences, amplifying the harms to children.

Parental competences in the context of serving a sentence of imprisonment

The presented article adopts the understanding of parental competence as a kind of skill to be developed and improved, rather than a relatively constant human capacity. This approach opens up space for designing parental programmes for prisoners. It is assumed that their competences are subject to change. During imprisonment, these tend to weaken, but it is possible to boost them through well-designed measures. It should be noted here that any pedagogical activity should be based on a diagnosis of the situation. Therefore, the article consists of fi ve parts: a theoretical introduction presenting the basic terminology of parental competence and the situation of an imprisoned parent in the context of stigmatisation; a short methodological analysis; an in-depth description of the research sample; a synthetic perspective on the results of tests obtained using the Parental Competence Test prepared by A. Matczak and J. Jaworska, followed by a summary.

Correlates of a Positive Parenting Experience in Prison.

The two goals of this study were: (1) to explore the relationship of a parent’s experience in prison in combination with a range of characteristics relating to the parent in prison, to the children, and to the caregiver, and (2) to explore the role of sex and nationality in this relationship. A total of 202 parents in prison (99 men and 103 women; 106 Spanish and 96 foreigners) participated in this study. To maximize the understanding of the questions, in-person interviews were conducted to collect answers to the questionnaire. The findings particularly highlight the importance of the role of the primary caregiver in ensuring that the parent in prison has a positive parenting experience during incarceration. More specifically, the parent in prison reports a better parenting experience when they perceive the primary caregiver as a link between themselves and their children in a positive way. This finding points to the importance of intervention and research on this relationship in order to enhance parental satisfaction and the relationship between the imprisoned parent and their children, as well as the family’s resilience during parental imprisonment.

The Role of Schools in Supporting Families Affected by Imprisonment

With its roots in direct work with three children in an Edinburgh high school who were struggling at school as a result of their mother’s longterm prison sentence, this article addresses the following questions: Why are schools generally unaware of which children are affected by imprisonment? How can staff actively support children and their carers through the school system? In what ways can imprisoned parents continue to engage in their children’s education? This article provides an overview of the main issues relating to schools and parental imprisonment, gives an account of best practice from research in Australia and the United States, and concludes with a set of proposals for further development work in this field. It also places the work in context of wider initiatives to support children and families affected by imprisonment in Scotland and how support in schools is helping to take this work forward. The article highlights the need for a coordinated approach between education, criminal justice, social work, and NGOs so that some of society’s most vulnerable children are recognised and appropriately, and sensitively, supported. Underpinned by the guiding principle that ‘schools provide a major opportunity to support children of incarcerated parents and to help meet their needs’ (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Day of General Discussion 2011), the Report’s key findings include: Training for teachers around issues of imprisonment, and its effects on children, is essential; Information and support for children affected should be available in all schools; and An imprisoned parent can still play a key role in their child’s education, even from behind bars.

In their own words: School lives of children with an imprisoned parent

The purpose of this research is to explore in depth the impact of parental imprisonment on the school lives of children. A phenomenological qualitative methodology has been utilised to explore the experiences of children whose father is imprisoned. The sample consists of 12 adolescents between the ages of 11–17 whose fathers are currently in prison. The data were collected through interviews. The theoretical design guiding this research is an integrated theoretical approach, drawing upon a combination of stigma, social control and strain theories. The study has revealed that five children have dropped out of school. The others face truancy problems in order to visit their parent on school days. The majority of participants have stated they are stigmatised. With one of the parents imprisoned, the families have financial problems and this affects the children left behind. Further studies on the numbers, problems and needs of children with an imprisoned parent in Turkey are recommended.

Children of Imprisoned Parents and Their Coping Strategies: A Systematic Review

Children of imprisoned parents have a two times greater risk of health problems, including difficulties in their environment, academic and behavioural problems as well as social stigma. Focusing on children who have parents in prison has not been a priority for research. This review aims to describe current knowledge on children who have imprisoned parents in a global context and highlight areas for additional research. This review highlights the coping strategies that children of imprisoned parents use and explores interventions that exist to support children of imprisoned parents. This review employed a qualitative narrative synthesis. The database search yielded 1989 articles, of which 11 met inclusion and quality criteria. Stigmatizing children due to parental imprisonment was a widespread problem. Children’s coping strategies included maintaining distance from the imprisoned parent, normalizing the parent’s situation and taking better control over their lives through distraction, sports, supportive people and therapy. Children received the best support in school-based interventions or mentoring programmes. The overall low quality of the included studies indicates a need for further research.

Children’s experiences of contact with imprisoned parents: A comparison between four European countries

Across the European Union an increasing number of children are experiencing parental imprisonment and the adverse emotional, behavioural and social outcomes that it entails. Separation owing to imprisonment also places strain on parent–child relationships, with children reporting feelings of abandonment and alienation, and difficulties communicating with their imprisoned parent. This paper presents findings from interviews with a total of 135 families in the UK, Germany, Romania and Sweden. There were noticeable country differences in the practical and financial barriers to maintaining contact and the suitability of prison visiting environments. This had important implications for children’s emotional health and the extent to which contact was conducive to supporting parent–child relationships.

Children of prisoners: exploring the impact of families' reappraisal of the role and status of the imprisoned parent on children's coping strategies

Qualitative data from a larger study on the impact of parental imprisonment in four countries found that children of prisoners face fundamentally similar psychological and social challenges. The ways that children cope, however, are influenced by the interpretative frame adopted by the adults around them, and by how issues of parental imprisonment are talked about in their families. This article argues that families have to reappraise their view of the imprisoned parent and then decide on their policy for how to deal with this publicly. Their approach may be based on openness and honesty or may emphasise privacy and secrecy, or a combination of these. Children are likely to be influenced by their parents'/carers' views, although these may cause conflict for them. Where parents/carers retain a positive view of the imprisoned parent, children are likely to benefit; where parents/carers feel issues of shame and stigma acutely, this is likely to be transmitted to their children. This is important for social workers and practitioners involved in supporting prisoners' families and for parenting programmes.

‘It was just like we were a family again’: play as a means to maintain family ties for children visiting an imprisoned parent

Children can find the process of visiting a prison traumatic and as a result of parental incarceration may experience a range of adverse outcomes. When children stay in contact with their imprisoned parent through prison visiting, however, this seems to be a protective factor. This paper reports on a play visits service based at Her Majesty's Prison Leeds, UK. The service provides supervised play work provision for children visiting their father. Data were derived from prisoners and prisoners' families and were triangulated as a means of achieving a level of validity. The findings reveal that play visits do produce positive outcomes for children and play visits are effective in maintaining and strengthening family ties. These effects may be stronger when compared to standard prison visits, but further research is needed to confirm this.

Children with an imprisoned parent: children's and caregivers' narratives

Previous studies have found that children may experience adverse effects from parental imprisonment. However, little research concerning this issue from children's perspectives has been undertaken in Hong Kong. In order to fill the knowledge gap, this study aims at exploring the challenges and resilience of children with a parent in prison. Nine children aged between 9 and 11 years with a parent in prison, and their caregivers, were interviewed. Their life experience and feelings during parental imprisonment were explored. The caregivers were asked about changes in the children's behaviour and resilience in the children. Children reported that they experienced academic stress and psychological distress, including sadness and problems in having to conceal their parent's imprisonment. They benefited through positive thinking, holding religious beliefs and talking to trusted persons. For caregivers, children's conduct problems, psychological distress and suppression of feelings were reported as the challenges children faced, while object hitting for venting emotion, religious beliefs and engagement in activities were reported as helping children to cope. The article concludes by making a number of recommendations concerning the provision of services, including the establishment of mutual-aid self-help groups, mentoring programmes and programmes promoting the importance of positive thinking for the children, and trainings for caregivers on understanding children's needs, as well as public education on the social stigma of parental imprisonment.

From Invisibility to Protection - Children in Prison with their Parent in Finland

This article explores the process through which children in prison with their imprisoned parent have become a target of social concern in Finland. It is asked how the new social problem of ‘children in prison’ has been constructed. The data consist of relevant parts of the legislation and official documents. Three phases of social problem construction are named: (i) Children in prison as a practical and private matter; (ii) intense debate, problem formulation and developing practices and (iii) a public institutionalised practice. The position of children changed from one of invisibility to the target of protection. On the basis of children's rights, children in prison became understood as a group of children who are in need of child protection services. This example demonstrates how the images of problems construct solutions for practices.

How can schools support children with a parent in prison?

Children who experience the imprisonment of a parent or close relative are more likely to have poorer outcomes including lower school attainment and an increased risk of truancy, school exclusion and socio-emotional difficulties. This paper reports on a research project, undertaken in 2011, into support provision in schools for children who experience parental imprisonment. Through the analysis of data collected by interviewing a range of representatives of schools including head-teachers, stakeholders, parents and children in one local authority in the South West of England we explore the different realities of experiencing the imprisonment of a parent or close relative. Consequently, we offer a critique of the support provision currently available and make a number of suggestions as to how schools might support this group of potentially ‘vulnerable’ children. This includes raising awareness of this group of children through the use of resources, posters and training; a focus on the individual needs of the children; an exploration of the type of support needed and when it should be available and a discussion around prison visits and how schools can enable children to maintain contact with their imprisoned parent. A key aspect of the research findings was to challenge the route of a one size fits all mentality and to offer sensitive, appropriate and bespoke service provision to each child and family experiencing the imprisonment of a parent or close relative.

A choice theory teaching and learning model for working with children of prisoners

The prison population has increased substantially in countries around the world and significant numbers of these prisoners are parents. Children of prisoners experience separation from the imprisoned parent. The separation and precursors to the separation often diminish these children's social‐emotional and educational well‐being. In this paper, the social‐emotional and educational functioning of children of prisoners is examined. Additionally, choice theory is described as a relevant theoretical teaching and learning model to facilitate the children's school‐related functioning.

Effects of parental imprisonment on child antisocial behaviour and mental health: a systematic review

Parental imprisonment can cause many problems for the family left behind, including difficulty organising childcare, loss of family income, trouble maintaining contact with the imprisoned parent, stigma, and home, school and neighbourhood moves. Children and parents can be distressed by the separation. Children may respond by acting out or becoming withdrawn, anxious or depressed. We conducted an exhaustive search for studies that examined children's antisocial behaviour and mental health after parental imprisonment.This Campbell Systematic Review found 16 studies with appropriate evidence. These studies all showed that children of prisoners are more likely than other children to show antisocial and mental health problems. However, it was unclear whether parental imprisonment actually caused these problems. They might have been caused by other disadvantages in children's lives that existed before parental imprisonment occurred. More research is required to determine whether or not parental imprisonment causes an increase in child antisocial behaviour and mental health problems.Executive summary/AbstractBACKGROUNDThe number of children with parents in prison is increasing in many countries worldwide. Theory and qualitative research suggest that parental imprisonment might contribute to child antisocial behaviour and mental health problems, because of the trauma of separation, strained child‐care arrangements during parental imprisonment, loss of family income, other stressful life events such as moving home and school, and the stigma of parental imprisonment.OBJECTIVESThe first aim of this review is to assess evidence on parental imprisonment as a predictor of child antisocial behaviour (including criminal behaviour) and poor mental health. The second aim is to assess evidence on the possible causal effects of parental imprisonment on these outcomes. A third aim is to investigate whether characteristics of children, parents, prisons, and wider social and penal settings might moderate the effects of parental imprisonment on children.SEARCH STRATEGYWe searched for studies of children of prisoners by contacting experts in the field, examining the bibliographies of prior reviews, and searching electronic databases of references for the years 1960 to 2008. We searched to identify both published and unpublished literature. The searches were international in scope. Over 10,500 references were screened, 319 full text reports were retrieved, and 165 reports of studies of children of prisoners were identified.SELECTION CRITERIAStudies that compared children of prisoners with children whose parents were not imprisoned on antisocial or mental health outcomes were first identified as studies that might be eligible for the review. Studies were included in the review if the comparison group of children was either selected to represent the general population of children (to estimate the strength of prediction of child outcomes following parental imprisonment) or to be similar to children of prisoners on confounding variables (to estimate the causal effects of parental imprisonment on children). Sixteen studies were eligible for the review.DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSISThe results of 16 studies are described in a narrative review and in a meta‐analysis. Weighted mean effect sizes are reported for the associations between parental imprisonment and child outcomes. Moderator analyses were used to investigate possible explanations for variations in the study results.MAIN RESULTSChildren of prisoners have about twice the risk of antisocial behaviour and poor mental health outcomes compared to children without imprisoned parents. All except one of the studies suggested that parental imprisonment might cause an increase in these outcomes for children (i.e., had positive effect sizes even after controlling for covariates). However, these tests of causal effects might be systematically biased because studies often did not control for prior child behaviour, parental criminality, and other important confounds associated with parental imprisonment. There were not enough studies to conduct more than exploratory analyses of moderators of the relationship between parental imprisonment and child outcomes.REVIEWERS’ CONCLUSIONSWe conclude that children of prisoners are at greater risk of undesirable outcomes than their peers. However, it is not known whether parental imprisonment causes an increase in risk for children or whether other disadvantage in children's lives accounts for this association. There is increasing research interest in the possible effects of parental imprisonment on children. It is important to conduct new research that can estimate the causal effects of parental imprisonment on children more accurately, and investigate mediators and moderators of its effects.

EVIDENCE‐BASED PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN OF PRISONERS

With fast growing prison populations around the world, children are increasingly exposed to parental imprisonment. In the United States, the population of children under 18 with an imprisoned parent grew from 0.9 million in 1991 to 1.5 million in 1999 (Mumola, 2000). In England and Wales, approximately 125,000 children experience parental imprisonment each year, compared with about 170,000 children who experience parental divorce (Murray, 2006). Many researchers have suggested that parental imprisonment might harm children, but there have been few high-quality studies of these effects. Accordingly, the effects of parental imprisonment on children “may be the least understood and most consequential implication of the high reliance on incarceration” (Hagan and Dinovitzer, 1999:122). The study published in this issue by Phillips et al. (2006) shows that parental imprisonment is associated with family economic strain, and instability in children’s care and living arrangements, even after controlling for parental substance abuse, parental mental health problems, and low education. Their analyses are based on the Great Smoky Mountains Study (a longitudinal survey of over 1,400 children in North Carolina), which is an extremely important and impressive prospective longitudinal survey of the development of antisocial behavior in children. The main policy issue raised by their study is that imprisoning parents may harm children’s family environments and contribute to children’s adverse outcomes through the life-course. Given the likely harms of parental imprisonment, intervention programs are needed to prevent adverse outcomes for children of prisoners. However, without a sound scientific basis, even well-intentioned interventions can be ineffective, and they may sometimes even cause harm (McCord, 2003). Support programs for children of prisoners have rarely been well evaluated, using randomized controlled trials. Therefore, little is known about their effectiveness. Pending further evidence, policies should be developed based on the best knowledge about the causes of adverse outcomes for children of prisoners. Depending on what causes these