Approximately 1.7 million children have parents who are incarcerated in prison in the United States, and possibly millions of additional children have a parent incarcerated in jail. Many affected children experience increased risk for developing behavior problems, academic failure, and substance abuse. For a growing number of children, incarcerated parents, caregivers, and professionals, parent– child contact during the imprisonment period is a key issue. In this article, we present a conceptual model to provide a framework within which to interpret findings about parent– child contact when parents are incarcerated. We then summarize recent research examining parent–child contact in context. On the basis of the research reviewed, we present initial recommendations for children’s contact with incarcerated parents and also suggest areas for future intervention and research with this vulnerable population.

Incarcerated mothers at a maximum security prison (N = 362) participated in a study of the relationship between parenting stress, measured by a modification of the R. R. Abidin (1995) Parenting Stress Index, and adjustment, assessed by the L. Derogatis (1993) Brief Symptom Inventory and institutional records of misconduct. Stress associated with limited contact with children was related to higher levels of anxiety, depression, and somatization. Stress concerning visitation was significantly related to anxiety. Stress concerning competence as a parent was associated with elevated anxiety and depressive symptoms as well as with increased institutional misconduct. Incarcerated women experience considerable distress related to parenting, manifest in psychological and behavioral adjustment.

The present study contrasted the parenting stress and adjustment patterns of 100 mothers and 111 fathers incarcerated in one of 11 U.S. prisons. In comparison to inmate mothers, fathers had less contact with children, higher levels of parenting stress, and poorer alliance with caregivers. For inmate mothers, higher levels of contact with children-particularly letter writing-was associated with reduced parenting stress. For both mothers and fathers, there was an association between heightened parenting stress and increased levels of self-reported in-prison violent and aggressive behaviors. For women, increased parenting stress as well as lower levels of parenting alliance with caregivers was associated with heightened depressive symptoms. Results imply the importance of recognizing the impact of separation from children on parents in prison, and support the need for prison parenting interventions that directly address ways of coping with parenting stress.

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This article explores the factor structure and concurrent validity of the Prison Adjustment Questionnaire with a cohort of 777 maximum-security female inmates. Results suggest a two-factor solution of a Distress factor and a Conflict factor, both of which demonstrate good concurrent validity using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) Global Severity Score, institutional misconduct, security level, and self-report violence. Regression analyses indicate scores on the Distress factor were predicted by the BSI Anxiety Scale, having children, not being of minority status, and prior incarceration. Scores on the Conflict factor were predicted by BSI Hostility, BSI Phobic Anxiety, presence of a personality disorder, being married, being the victim of threats and physical assaults, time served, and being incarcerated for a violent crime.A s the number of incarcerated women increases across both state and federal institutions (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1999), interest in measuring how women adjust to this unique living environment 624