Early age at childhood parental incarceration and STI/HIV-related drug use and sex risk across the young adult lifecourse in the US: Heightened vulnerability of black and Hispanic youth

Abstract

Background We measured associations between parental incarceration and STI/HIV-related drug use and sex risk, assessing differences by race, age at first parental incarceration, and potential mediators of the relationship. Methods We used Waves I (adolescence), III (young adulthood), and IV (adulthood) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n=11,884) to measure associations between age of parental incarceration (never; < 8; 8–17; ≥18 years old) and marijuana and cocaine use, multiple partnerships, and STI in adolescence and adulthood among white, Black, and Hispanic participants and assessed mediation by sexual and physical abuse, mental disorder symptoms, and drug use. Results By Wave IV, approximately one in six had experienced a parental incarceration; higher prevalence observed among black (26%) and Hispanic (20%) versus white (15%) respondents (p < 0.0001). Parental incarceration at any age was moderately to strongly associated with STI/HIV risk outcomes. In multivariable models, parental incarceration at age < 8 years old (versus never) remained strongly associated with STI/HIV risk in both adolescence and adulthood, with strongest associations among non-whites. Among black participants, parental incarceration at < 8 years old was associated with over double the odds of adulthood use of marijuana (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 2.53, 95% confidence interval: 1.62, 3.95) and cocaine (AOR: 4.41, 95% CI: 2.05, 9.48). Delinquency, drug use, and mood disorders appeared to partially mediate the relationship. Conclusions Children impacted by parental incarceration constitute priority populations for substance use and STI/HIV prevention and treatment. The unintended consequences of incarceration for children should be considered in decarceration discussions.

Ups and downs of drug rehab among women: a qualitative study

“…Although drug use is less common in women than in men, it has higher medical, social and economic consequences in women. These consequences include unwanted pregnancy, trauma, violence and transmission of infectious diseases such as HIV (human immunodeficiency viruses) and hepatitis B and C [10]. Additionally, social harms such as runaway, prostitution, and high-risk behaviors are among the harms associated with drug use in women [7] which endanger their health and challenge their rehabilitation process [11].…”

Interrupting Intergenerational Offending in the Context of America’s Social Disaster of Mass Imprisonment

“…Compared to general patterns of offending in adolescence, adolescents experiencing parental imprisonment are more likely to engage in delinquency with greater frequency and chronicity (Moffitt, 1993;Rakt, Murray, & Nieuwbeerta, 2012;. With over one-half of sons undergoing imprisonment by their early 30s (Roettger et al, 2018), the widely-replicated work of Nagin, Farrington, & Moffitt (1998) Compared to those not experiencing parental imprisonment, adolescents who have experienced parental incarceration have been found to have lower school attachment and increased risk of dropping out of high school, smaller and more antisocial peer networks, higher rates of parental absence, increased risk for poverty and homelessness, increased risk for teenage pregnancy, and a higher risk for engaging in risky sexual behaviors and substance abuse (Cho, 2011;Cochran, Siennick, & Mears, 2018;Dobbie, Grönqvist, Niknami, Palme, & Priks, 2018;Giordano, 2010;Hagan & Foster, 2007;Khan, Scheidell, Rosen, Geller, & Brotman, 2018;Roettger, Swisher, Kuhl, and Chavez, 2011). These risks, in turn, may compound with earlier traumas and behavioural problems to substantially increase risk for subsequent delinquency and adult offending (Giordano & Copp, 2015;Hughe et al, 2017).…”

“…Compared with those not experiencing parental imprisonment, adolescents who experienced parental incarceration have been found to have lower school attachment and increased risk of dropping out of high school, smaller and more antisocial peer networks, higher rates of parental absence, increased risk for poverty and homelessness, increased risk for teenage pregnancy, and a higher risk of engaging in risky sexual behaviors and substance abuse (Cho, 2011; Cochran, Siennick, & Mears, 2018; Dobbie, Grönqvist, Niknami, Palme, & Priks, 2018; Foster & Hagan, 2007; Giordano, 2010; Khan, Scheidell, Rosen, Geller, & Brotman, 2018; Roettger, Swisher, Kuhl, & Chavez, 2011). These risks, in turn, may combine with earlier traumas and behavioral problems to substantially increase the risk for subsequent delinquency and adult offending (Giordano & Copp, 2015; Hughes et al, 2017).…”

Ups and downs of drug rehab among women: a qualitative study

“…Although drug use is less common in women than in men, its medical, social and economic consequences are higher. These consequences include unwanted pregnancy, trauma, violence and transmission of infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis B and C (10). Additionally, social harms such as runaway, prostitution, and high-risk behaviors are among the harms associated with drug use in women (7) which endanger the health of these people and challenge their rehabilitation process (11).…”