Families Left Behind: The Hidden Costs of Incarceration and Reentry

Travis, Jeremy; Mcbride, Elizabeth Cincotta; Solomon, Amy L.

doi:10.1037/e688572011-001

Cited by 92 publications

(114 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Similarly, the incarceration of a drug-addicted family member who stole money and property from his or her relatives may stop the drain on family resources. But more typically, the separation due to imprisonment has a negative impact on the family (Travis & Solomon 2005).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unanticipated Consequences of Imprisonment on Families of Prison Inmates of Kumasi Central Prison of Ghana

Ofori‐Dua¹,

Akuoko²,

Kanwetuu³

2015

International Journal of Social Science Studies

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Prisons in Ghana, like most prisons the world over, are established to keep offenders from society and to try and reform them so that they will become useful citizens. Prisons are considered as crime fighting-devices which govern penal policy. However, there are many social, psychological and financial costs of imprisonment on the spouse and children of the prisoner. For instance, how do the remaining spouses and children cope with the social, psychological and financial problems resulting from incarceration? What social support systems exist in Ghana for the benefit of the families of the incarcerated? These questions and a few others formed the bases for which 25 families of prisoners in the Kumasi Central Prisons were purposively sampled and interviewed to examine the unintended consequences of imprisonment on the families of the incarcerated. The results of the study indicated that the incarceration of family members led to social stigma of the spouses and children, reduction in family fortunes, emotional and psychological trauma, infidelity and family breakdown. Consequently, the spouses and their children resorted to prayers from churches and pastors to cope with the situation, quitting their residences, relocating to cheaper and affordable accommodation and reducing their expenditure and "luxury" in order to survive, owing to unavailability of social support systems except temporary financial assistance from friends, close relatives and religious organizations. The study made some recommendations.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The family structure, financial relationships, income levels, emotional support systems and living arrangements may be affected (Travis & Solomon, 2005). Incarceration can also damage the financial situations of the families left behind.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unanticipated Consequences of Imprisonment on Families of Prison Inmates of Kumasi Central Prison of Ghana

Ofori‐Dua¹,

Akuoko²,

Kanwetuu³

2015

International Journal of Social Science Studies

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“…The impact of parental incarceration on children's living arrangements varies depending on whether the incarcerated parent had been the primary, if not sole, caregiver [4]. This, in turn, is often a function of gender.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship Between Maternal Incarceration and Foster Care Placement

Dworsky¹

2011

TOFAMSJ

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Abstract:We use administrative data to examine the temporal relationship between maternal incarceration and foster care placement among incarcerated mothers and their children in Cook County, Illinois. We also compare the discharge outcomes of foster children whose mothers were incarcerated to the discharge outcomes of all foster children in Illinois. We found that more than three quarters of the children who entered foster care did so prior to the mother's first observed incarceration and that children whose mothers had been incarcerated were more likely to be adopted and less likely to be reunified than foster children generally. The implications of these findings for both the child welfare and criminal justice systems are discussed..

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“…It is often regarded that children who are exposed to certain subcultures will likely yield to the values of those subcultures. And while several researchers have hypothesized that children of incarcerated parents are at risk for criminal behavior [3][4][5][6][7], there remains very little empirical research on this topic. One more recent study [8] revealed that parental incarceration was linked to increases in antisocial behavior and increased juvenile and adult offending.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methodological Concerns in the Study of Intergenerational Transmission of Criminal Behavior and Children of Incarcerated Parents

Parsons‐Pollard¹

2011

TOFAMSJ

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This study seeks to focus on the methodological concerns found in intergenerational transmission of criminal behavior studies of children of incarcerated parents. In reviewing the literature it is evident that parental incarceration has a significant impact on children but unfortunately many of the studies suffer from methodological concerns that limit the generalizability of the findings and the ability to extend the origins of the antisocial behavior across generations. The concerns include 1) the lack of reliable data available 2) small sample sizes and lack of control groups 3) lack of variation in reporters of data 4) very little information about subjects before incarceration 5) the need for data related to high risk urban populations 6) the use of retrospective data, and 7) few studies the meet the criteria outlined by Thornberry.

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Families Left Behind: The Hidden Costs of Incarceration and Reentry

Cited by 92 publications

References 8 publications

Unanticipated Consequences of Imprisonment on Families of Prison Inmates of Kumasi Central Prison of Ghana

Unanticipated Consequences of Imprisonment on Families of Prison Inmates of Kumasi Central Prison of Ghana

The Relationship Between Maternal Incarceration and Foster Care Placement

Methodological Concerns in the Study of Intergenerational Transmission of Criminal Behavior and Children of Incarcerated Parents

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