Parental Incarceration Research Articles

“I've got to break the cycle for my son, so he doesn't go to juvie like his pops”: Interrupting intergenerational patterns of incarceration

AbstractPatterns of incarceration transmit generationally causing damage to families and communities across decades. Literature is replete with studies on the harmful impact of parental incarceration but is missing the voice of those living within this cycle. This study highlights the perspectives and lived experiences of those who have parents who have been incarcerated, are currently incarcerated themselves, and have children of their own. This middle generation sheds light on how and why they followed in their parents' footsteps and their desire to break this pattern for their own children. Implications and recommendations are discussed.

“I Literally Roll With The Punches”: Black and Latina Women Coping Through Parental Incarceration

Racial and ethnic disparities within the criminal legal system have been shown to disproportionately impact Black and Latinx children. Parental incarceration is associated with emotional and psychological stresses for children, but these effects can extend beyond incarceration. Research suggests that parental incarceration is not a discrete event and problems during childhood can exacerbate throughout the life course. Yet, little is known on how challenges faced by parental incarceration transcend to adulthood. Further, an examination on the long-term effects of parental incarceration through the lens of race, ethnicity, and gender remains understudied. In order to address this gap, this study focused on the lived experiences of young Black and Latina women. We utilized 11 semi-structured interviews to explicate how young Black and Latina women compartmentalize the experience of parental incarceration and use coping strategies. Using an interpretative phenomenological analysis, we found that these young women interpret parental incarceration as an ongoing process and rely on four coping strategies. Thus, our findings highlight that despite the challenges of parental incarceration, young Black and Latina women remain resilient by accepting the reality of their circumstances, keeping themselves occupied with tasks and activities, seeking their own social support systems and mental health services, and reconstructing their own prosocial identity.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Chronic Low Back Pain in Adulthood: Role of Emotion Regulation

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have profound deleterious effects on subsequent physical health and psychological functioning in adulthood. Commonly studied ACEs include childhood emotional, physical, sexual abuse, parental psychopathology, substance abuse, and early parental loss due to death/abandonment, or parental incarceration. Recent evidence suggests that ACEs represent a likely social determinant of chronic pain development in adulthood; however, little research to date has investigated the psychological processes that might underlie the link between ACEs and chronic pain. The current study examined emotion regulation as a potential mediator of the relationship between ACEs and pain severity in adults with chronic low back pain (cLBP). Study participants included 209 adults (54% women, 58% non-Hispanic Black) between the ages of 18 and 85 with cLBP. Participants retrospectively reported childhood experiences of abuse and neglect on the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) questionnaire. Higher ACEs scores are indicative of greater exposure to adverse childhood events. Participants also completed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and the Brief Pain Inventory – Short Form (BPI-SF) to assess cLBP severity. Sociodemographic data (e.g., sex/gender, ethnicity/race, age, social status) were also collected. In data analytic models, sociodemographic variables were included as covariates. Results revealed that emotion regulation mediated the relationship between ACEs and cLBP severity (indirect effect = .160, 95% percentile bootstrap CI [.071 to .270]). More specifically, ACEs were linked to greater difficulty with emotion regulation (p < .001), which, in turn, was associated with greater cLBP severity (p < .001). Results suggest ACEs may be linked to cLBP severity in adulthood though difficulties in emotion regulation. This aligns with research demonstrating that childhood maltreatment can lead to maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (heightened emotional reactivity, rumination, attentional bias to threats) which can exacerbate and perpetuate poor physical and mental health over the lifespan. Grant support from R01MD010441.

The role of grandparents in the family's penitentiary crisis: biographical research

This paper focuses on the role and importance of grandparents in the situation of the family's penitentiary crisis. In the light of biographical research carried out with two research groups: (1) adults who experienced a parent's incarceration in childhood and (2) parents of prisoners – the activities and key strategies of grandparents involved in supporting their grandchildren were analysed. The potential of Fritz Schütze's biographical sociology was used to carry out the study, based on the reconstruction of the life history of the respondents. On the basis of the narrative interviews, I described the specificity of two key contexts: (1) the (negative) experience of parentification in the situation of complete takeover of the care of grandchildren, and (2) (positive and negative) aspects of grandparents' occasional participation in family life. The obtained results allow to improve the knowledge about the experiences (needs and difficulties) of prisoners' families, especially focusing on intergenerational relations.

Parental imprisonment as a risk factor for cardiovascular and metabolic disease in adolescent and adult offspring: A prospective Australian birth cohort study

ObjectivesParental imprisonment is linked with child health in later life. The present study provides the first prospective cohort analysis and non-U.S. based study examining parental imprisonment and cardiometabolic risk factors in adolescence and adulthood. MethodsThe study followed 7,223 children born from live, singleton births from 1981 to 1984 in Brisbane, Australia. Data on parental imprisonment was collected at mother interview when the children were ages 5 and 14. Our sample analyzes offspring with biometric data collected by health professionals, including 3,794 at age 14, 2,136 at age 21, and 1,712 at age 30. Analyses used multivariate linear and logistic regression, and time-varying growth curve models. ResultsAmong female respondents, parental imprisonment at ages ≤5 was associated with higher body-mass index (BMI) at ages 14, 21, and 30; higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at age 30; and increased sedentary hours, larger waist circumference, and odds of a high-risk waist circumference at age 30. Parental imprisonment when the child was aged ≤14 was associated with increased BMI and SBP at age 30 for females. In growth-curve models, parental imprisonment when the child was aged ≤5 and ≤ 14 among females was linked with increased BMI; parental imprisonment when the child was aged ≤5 was associated with increased SBP and DBP. No significant associations were observed for males. ConclusionsUsing prospective cohort data, our results support research showing that parental imprisonment, particularly in early childhood, is associated with increased BMI, blood pressure, sedentary hours, and waist circumference in females in early adulthood. These findings implicate parental imprisonment as a risk factor for cardiometabolic health issues in later life among females.

All in the Family? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Parenting and Family Environment as Risk Factors for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Children.

Parenting and family environment have significant impact on child development, including development of executive function, attention, and self-regulation, and may affect the risk of developmental disorders including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This paper examines the relationship of parenting and family environment factors with ADHD. A systematic review of the literature was conducted in 2014 and identified 52 longitudinal studies. A follow-up search in 2021 identified 7 additional articles, for a total of 59 studies that examined the association of parenting factors with ADHD outcomes: ADHD overall (diagnosis or symptoms), ADHD diagnosis specifically, or presence of the specific ADHD symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. For parenting factors that were present in three or more studies, pooled effect sizes were calculated separately for dichotomous or continuous ADHD outcomes, accounting for each study’s conditional variance. Factors with sufficient information for analysis were parenting interaction quality (sensitivity/warmth, intrusiveness/reactivity, and negativity/harsh discipline), maltreatment (general maltreatment and physical abuse), parental relationship status (divorce, single parenting), parental incarceration, and child media exposure. All factors showed a significant direct association with ADHD outcomes, except sensitivity/warmth which had an inverse association. Parenting factors predicted diagnosis and overall symptoms as well as inattentive and hyperactive symptoms when measured, but multiple factors showed significant heterogeneity across studies. These findings support the possibility that parenting and family environment influences ADHD symptoms and may affect a child’s likelihood of being diagnosed with ADHD. Prevention strategies that support parents, such as decreasing parenting challenges and increasing access to parent training in behavior management, may improve children’s long-term developmental health.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11121-022-01358-4.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Parent Management Training Program for Incarcerated Parents: Post-Release Outcomes

The majority of incarcerated adults are parents. While in prison, most parents maintain at least some contact with their families. A positive connection with family during imprisonment is hypothesized to improve long-term success after release. One way in which departments of corrections attempt to facilitate positive connections with family is through prison-based parenting programs. One such program, developed in collaboration with the Oregon Department of Corrections, is the cognitive-behavioral parent management training program Parenting Inside Out (PIO). Outcomes due to PIO were examined within the context of a randomized controlled trial. Incarcerated parents from all correctional facilities in the state of Oregon were recruited to participate, and eligible parents who consented (N = 359) were transferred to participating releasing institutions. After initial assessment, parents were randomized to condition (i.e., PIO “intervention” condition or services-as-usual “control” condition) and then followed through the remainder of their prison sentences and to one year after release. Intervention condition participants were offered PIO prior to their release. Outcomes favoring participants in the intervention condition were found in areas of importance to parents and their children and families and to public health and safety at large, including a decreased likelihood of problems related to substance use and of engaging in criminal behavior during the first six months following release as well as a decreased likelihood of being arrested by police during the first year following release. The implications of the findings are discussed, including the critical need for scientifically rigorous research on multi-component parenting programs delivered during the reentry period.

Unpacking the connection between parental incarceration and parenting stress: The mediating role of child health and health care strains

Research points to parental incarceration as a social determinant of child health. Still, the extent to which the elevated health burden of children exposed to parental incarceration impacts parenting stress remains unclear. The current research addresses this gap in the literature using recent data from the 2016–2020 National Survey of Children's Health - a nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized U.S. children ages 0 to 17. Findings reveal a direct association between children's exposure to parental incarceration and multiple parenting stress indicators, including finding the child difficult to parent, feeling irritated by the child, feeling angry with the child, and parenting coping challenges. Notably, mediation analysis revealed that, collectively, child health and health care strains account for approximately 45% of the association between children's exposure to parental incarceration and the overall stress of parenting the focal child. Findings demonstrate how children's exposure to parental incarceration can have broader ripple effects on other family members by shifting child health and health care burdens in ways that heighten parenting stress. The findings underscore the health and health care needs of children with incarcerated parents as a top criminal justice and public health priority.

Parental criminality and children's educational attainment: A population-based extended family study

ObjectivesWe examine how parental criminality is associated with offspring education at different educational stages from primary to tertiary education and conduct separate analyses for non-violent and violent crimes and incarceration, and for paternal and maternal criminality. MethodsWe use Swedish total population register data of 513,886 children and their parents and estimate both population-level linear probability models and cousin fixed-effects models. ResultsParental criminality was negatively associated with all stages of offspring education. In population-level models accounting for parental education, the strongest associations were observed for parental violent crimes and incarceration with offspring secondary education completion (beta: −0.16 to −0.18). Cousin fixed-effects models suggested that family-level unobserved heterogeneity played a role in the associations as they were reduced when analyzing cousins differently exposed to parental criminality. ConclusionsParental criminality is negatively associated with offspring educational attainment, and the associations are in part due to shared familial factors. The association is different at different educational stages and for parental violent vs. non-violent crime.

A Quantitative Look at Incarcerated Parents and their Parenting Responsibilities in an Urban County Jail

An emerging body of research has shown that parental incarceration can negatively impact the emotional, social, and developmental health of children. However, most of the research has been conducted within prison populations. To better understand the scope and potential impact of parental incarceration in a large urban county jail, we surveyed 1,404 inmates in a county jail on their children, parenting responsibilities, and history of incarceration. Nearly half of respondents stated they were parents of at least one child under the age of 18. Over 90% of the incarcerated parents had been to jail or prison previously, 61% reported being the primary financial support for their child(ren), and 62% lived with their children prior to incarceration. Incarcerated mothers were more likely to be have lived with their children and been the primary financial support for their children prior to incarceration compared to incarcerated fathers. Public health officials should recognize the downstream effects of parental incarceration in local jails and ensure appropriate resources, programs, and policies are in place to meet the needs of impacted children.

Exploring the experiences of children whose parents are incarcerated

This article presents a component of analysis undertaken as part of a larger study that examined how incarcerated parents reconnect with their children upon release from prison. In this paper children’s experience of that process are presented. Using a Rapid Evidence Assessment framework, themes yielded from the analysis centred on: (1) the formal and informal support available to children who experience separation from one or both parents who are in prison, (2) the long-term effects absent parents have on children’s lives, and (3) exploring the experience children have once a parent is released from prison. The paper concludes by reflecting on throughcare and resettlement processes that children are faced with following parental incarceration.

Recreational marijuana legalization and admission to the foster‐care system

AbstractWe estimate the effects of legalized recreational marijuana on entry into the foster‐care system. Exploiting state‐level variation in legalization and its timing, we estimate that legalization decreases foster‐care placements by at least 10%, with larger effects in years after legalization, and for admissions for reasons of parental drug and alcohol abuse, physical abuse, neglect, and parental incarceration. Our findings imply that legalization may have important consequences for child welfare, and that substitution toward marijuana from other substances can be an important part of how legalization affects admissions.

Predictors of Parent-Child Contact During a Parent’s Incarceration

ABSTRACT Over 2 million people are currently incarcerated – the majority of whom are parents to minor children. The reentry process is often difficult for parents as they navigate reentry challenges such as finding housing and employment while also trying to develop and reestablish relationships with their children. Increased parent-child contact during incarceration is associated with improved incarceration and reentry outcomes for both the parents and their children. Using survey data from 252 parents exiting the prison system, this study uses structural equation modeling to examine predictors of parent-child contact during incarceration. Findings suggest incarcerated parents have higher levels of contact with their children when the parents had less exposure to childhood adversities such as parental incarceration, foster care, and group home placement. Mothers display higher levels of contact with children than fathers; similarly, younger parents display higher levels of contact than older, as do those who had recent contact in the month prior to incarceration compared to those who did not. These findings highlight specific factors and populations for practitioners to target to increase the level of parent-child contact during incarceration.

Secrecy and Googling a Parent: A Contemporary Analysis of Parental Incarceration

Secrecy and Googling a Parent: A Contemporary Analysis of Parental Incarceration

Children of Incarcerated Parents and COVID‐19

In the May 2020 edition of this publication, I wrote a guest commentary entitled “In support of children of incarcerated parents.” This commentary attempted to shed some light on the estimated 2.7 million minors — or one in 28 children — who are currently suffering the consequences of their parent's incarceration. Many more children have a parent that has recently been released from the correctional system. One in 14 kids will have a parent incarcerated before they are 18 years of age! Think about that — every classroom and every faith‐based community in America likely has a child or several children who fall into this subgroup.

Physical and Psychosocial Impacts of Parental Incarceration on Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review Differentiating Age of Exposure

Physical and Psychosocial Impacts of Parental Incarceration on Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review Differentiating Age of Exposure

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.

Behavioral and Emotional Problems of Prisoners' Children Based on the Children's Self-Report.

The aim of the analyses was to investigate the relations between parental incarceration and the levels of behavioral and emotional problems in children of fathers serving prison sentences, based on the children’s self-report. We tested a criterion group and two control groups. The criterion group consisted of children whose fathers were in prison. The children in control group I were from complete families; the level of problem behaviors in these families and the level of psychological resiliency in these children were similar to the respective levels in the criterion group. Finally, control group II consisted of children whose fathers were not in prison; problem behaviors in their families were basically absent or slight, and their level of resiliency was significantly higher compared to prisoners’ children and control group I. Prisoners’ children exhibited a higher level of emotional and behavioral problems than children from families in which the father was not serving a prison sentence and in which the level of dysfunctions was low. As regards prisoners’ children compared to their peers with a similar level of resiliency and a similar level of problem behavior in the family, statistically significant differences were found only in a few categories of emotional and behavioral problems. Parental incarceration proved to be an additional factor increasing the level of behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents—particularly girls—whose fathers were imprisoned.

“Mommy, I Want to Talk to My Dad”: Exploring Parental Incarceration, Bibliotherapy, and Storybooks

Parental incarceration often involves caregivers explaining the absence of a significant attachment to a child. Developmental scholars suggest that bibliotherapy and storybooks can provide both illustrative and explanatory frameworks for caregivers to discuss difficult topics with children. Storybooks paired with caregiver wisdom might help children to understand and adjust to the loss of a parent. However, scientific-based derivatives of caregiver experiences and communication practices integrated into storybooks are largely absent from the literature. To address this gap a qualitative community-based action research study was carried out in three contiguous phases, with 22 caregivers during 8 focus groups in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. Phase one entailed exploring caregiver-child communication practices related to parental incarceration. The second phase involved creating topic-specific stories integrated with bibliotherapeutic principles drawn from caregivers’ perceptions and narratives. The third phase included developing a web portal to host digital storybooks and companion resources. Catalytic validity was established through collaboration with the project team. Data analysis resulted in a robust theoretical framework and grounded theory entitled, Caregivers’ Family Relations Assessment and Communication Strategies (C-FRACS). Findings assert caregivers’ prerogatives on child well-being as a priority as it intersects with communication practices and epistemological concepts of explaining jail, prison, and parental incarceration to children.

A family resilience agenda for understanding and responding to parental incarceration.

The majority of research on children with incarcerated parents has focused on documenting main effects and adjustment problems among children and families. Although the focus on problems has been crucial in mobilizing support for this population, the field is now at a critical turning point where researchers are calling for more attention to resilience. We argue here that a family resilience perspective is useful in considering child and family level processes that may mitigate the harmful impact of parental incarceration. In contributing to a family resilience agenda, we first review evidence that points to parental incarceration as a risk to children. We then examine research that highlights children's competence in the face of adversity as well as adaptive family processes, such as parenting and contact with the incarcerated parent, that contribute to children's well-being. We offer recommendations for methodological innovation aimed at assessing competence, evaluating interventions, and incorporating multimethod approaches that capture dynamic processes and developmental change. We conclude with practice and policy implications and emphasize how a family resilience agenda suggests the need to contextualize developmental and family strengths within broader systems of discrimination and oppression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).