The present study examined young children's attachment behaviors during paternal incarceration and reported on initial validity of a new measure used to rate children's attachment-related behaviors and emotions during visits in a corrections setting. Seventy-seven children, age 2 to 6 years, and their jailed fathers and current caregivers participated in the home visit portion of the study, whereas 28 of these children participated in the jail visit. The results indicated that 27% of children witnessed the father's crime and 22% of children witnessed the father's arrest, with most children who witnessed these events exhibiting extreme distress; children who witnessed these events were more likely to have insecure attachments to their caregivers. Consistent with attachment theory and research, caregivers who exhibited more sensitivity and responsivity during interactions with children and those who provided more stimulating, responsive, learning-oriented home environments had children who were more likely to have secure attachments (measured with the Attachment Q-Sort). We also found preliminary evidence for the validity of our new measure, the Jail Prison Observation Checklist, in that children's attachment-related behaviors and emotions during the jail visit correlated with their attachment security observed in the home. Our observations indicate that, in certain contexts, noncontact visits with incarcerated parents can be stressful for children and that children's caregivers may play a significant role during these visits.

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More than 5 million US children have experienced a co-resident parent leaving for jail or prison. When parents are arrested, jailed, or sentenced to incarceration in jail or prison and released back into the community, their children experience changes at multiple levels. Children with incarcerated parents are more likely than their peers to experience multiple risk factors and stress exposures, including chronic poverty, parental unemployment, domestic violence, neighborhood violence, homelessness, and parental mental illness and substance abuse. Some risks occur prior to incarceration, whereas others occur during or following incarceration. This chapter provides a statistical portrait of children with incarcerated parents; reviews of risks commonly experienced by these children and research findings focusing on the well-being of children with incarcerated parents; a summary of incarceration-related experiences commonly encountered by affected children; and a discussion of implications for policy and practice.