The Association between Perpetuation of Intimate Partner Violence and Family Support on Couples with an Incarcerated Partner

Abstract

The ripple effect of incarceration is multifaceted. Studies show that imprisonment impacts the well-being of intimate and extended familial relationships, parental involvement, and financial support. Using data from the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting, and Partnering [MFS-IP], this study examined the effects of incarceration on families. The focus of this study is to examine the effect of family support on perpetrating physical violence. The findings revealed that the actor effect for men (p < 0.05) is statistically significant, meaning that men with less family support perpetuate higher levels of intimate partner violence (IPV). The partner effects for men to women (p < 0.05) is also statistically significant, meaning women with less family support coincide with men’s higher levels of IPV perpetration. Further, the effect of romantic attachment on perpetrating physical violence for men (p = 0.034) is statistically significant, meaning higher levels of romantic attachment towards the female partner coincides with their lower levels of perpetration of IPV. Clinical implications and future directions are provided.

Trajectories of incarcerated coparenting: Examining differences across race and ethnicity

“…The MFS‐IP is an evaluation of a grant program funded by the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to promote or sustain healthy relationships and to strengthen families in which a father was incarcerated or otherwise involved with the criminal justice system (e.g., recently released, on parole, or probation). The MFS‐IP data have been utilized in several different articles that have examined family relationships and incarceration (e.g., Comfort et al, 2018; Durante et al, 2022; McKay et al, 2018; McKay & Tadros, 2022; Tadros, 2022; Tadros & Ansell, 2022; Tadros, et al, 2022; Tadros & Gregorash, 2022; Tadros & Tate, 2022; Tadros & Vlach, 2022).…”