Parental Incarceration During Childhood, Family Context, and Youth Problem Behavior Across Adolescence

Abstract

Over the past several decades, the number of youth with parents in prison in the U.S. has increased substantially. Findings thus far indicate a vulnerable group of children. Using prospective longitudinal data gathered as part of the population-based Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers (LIFT) randomized controlled trial, adolescents who had an incarcerated parent during childhood are compared to those who did not across four key domains: family social advantage, parent health, the parenting strategies of families, and youth externalizing behavior and serious delinquency. Past parental incarceration was associated with lower family income, parental education, parental socioeconomic status, and parental health, and with higher levels of parental depression, inappropriate and inconsistent discipline, youth problem behaviors and serious delinquency. The effect sizes for significant associations were small to moderate. Keywords children; delinquency; discipline; externalizing behavior; incarcerated parents Since 1980, the number of imprisoned adults has quadrupled in the United States, increasing from 320,000 to nearly 1,420,000 (U.S. Department of Justice, 2004), a rate which far surpassed the estimated 23% general population growth in the United States (Perry & Mackun, 2001). Since a majority of incarcerated adults are parents (Glaze & Maruschak, 2009), the population of children with incarcerated parents has also grown (Travis & Waul, 2003). Between 1991 and, the number of minor children with a parent in a state or federal prison increased from about 1 million to over 1.7 million children (Glaze & Maruschak, 2009), or 2.3% of all the children in the United States. A similar number of children have parents who were released from prison or jails within the last few years (Mumola, 2002). Absent from either count are the over 5 million children whose parents have been involved in the corrections system in the more distant past but are not currently under supervision (Reed & Reed, 1997). Taken together, over 8 million minor children (roughly 11% of all children in the United States) may be affected by parental incarceration.Findings to date indicate a vulnerable group of children at risk for mental health problems, substance abuse, delinquency, school difficulties, and future criminal behavior (Johnston, 1995;Murray & Farrington, 2005;Myers, Smarsh, Amlund-Hagen, & Kennon, 1999). A recent meta-analysis of research on children with incarcerated parents found that children of inmates are twice as likely to exhibit antisocial behaviors as children without incarcerated parents, and that this increased risk is present even when controlling for other established risk factors for these problems (Murray, Farrington, Sekol, & Olsen, 2009 Using prospective, longitudinal, population-based data, this study compares adolescents who experienced parental incarceration during childhood versus those who did not. Specifically, it focuses on differences in three general areas of family risk (family social advantage, ...

Hardships Children face in the United States of America by Having a Parent in Prison: How to Help Them! A Program Proposal

“…As a possible solution, some researchers realized that the sentencing commission could develop a scale that would rank offenses in accordance with democratic judgments about their relative severity). [10,24,34]. Women were much more likely to be the primary care takers of their children before incarceration than fathers were.…”

“…Consequently, the nurturing role of the present parent and/or caregiver has been recognized as having the most powerful influence on impacting how children cope with and handle their parent's incarceration, out of home placement and/or being separated from their siblings) [34,38,41]. Children are more likely to successfully recover if they are able to develop a trust relationship and healthy attachment with the present caregiver in a manner that centers on emotional security, emotional support and the ability to freely express their feelings [46].…”

“…Kjellstrand and Eddy [34] conducted a study using perspective, longitudinal, population-based data to make a comparison analysis between youth who experienced parental incarceration and youth who did not. The primary focus was in the areas of family risk (social disadvantage, parents' health and parenting strategies) and comparable youth behavior (externalizing behavior and serious delinquency).…”

“…Youth that have a parent in prison face needs and have the same adjustments in their outcomes [4,34]. It has also been noted that parental incarceration is not likely the initial starting point of youth difficulties.…”

The Impact of Maternal Incarceration on Emotional and Behavioral Outcomes: Research Findings from a National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health

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As studies repeatedly show an increase in the rates of detainment among women, findings also indicate that maternal incarceration has been associated with inappropriate and inconsistent discipline, youth problem behaviors, and serious delinquency [10][16] [7]. Research has also illustrated that mother's incarceration is associated with instability among children, many of whom are less likely to complete their education and are more likely to be incarcerated themselves in later adulthood [12][18] [7].

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