“When She Says Daddy”: Black Fathers’ Recidivism following Reentry from Jail

Abstract

We report on the findings of a mixed methods longitudinal study of 84 African American fathers of young children who were enrolled into the study during the father’s jail stay. Participants were assessed using interviews, self-report measures, and administrative records on frequency of father–child contact, father–caregiver relationship quality, family support, paternal pre-incarceration employment, fathers’ plans to live with the child upon reentry, history of substance abuse, and new convictions one year following release from jail. Qualitative analysis revealed three primary identities of fathers during incarceration: father as nurturer, father as protector, and father as provider. Qualitative analysis of interview data detailed the ways in which the context of incarceration and the presence of the criminal justice system interacts with these identities to impact family structure, parent–child visits, plans for release, and motivation for desistance. Quantitative analysis indicated heterogeneity among fathers, with links between parent–child contact and desistance conditional on fathers’ plans for coresidence with children as well as family support and relationship quality. Taken together, the findings highlight the strengths of African American fathers and their families despite the risks associated with incarceration, including the importance of family support and children as motivation for desistance. The results have implications for how the justice system weighs the bidirectional influences of fathers and families.

Honoring foundational Black psychologists' contributions to research on Black fathers.

“…Factors, such as social support can attenuate risks faced by Black fathers, including some of the most marginalized subsets of fathers—Black nonresident fathers, and formerly incarcerated Black fathers. In fact, some research suggests that better health outcomes like reduced depressive symptoms (Tsuchiya et al, 2018), more positive reentry experiences, and lower reincarceration rates (Thomas et al, 2022) are all linked to fathers receiving high levels of positive social support.…”

COVID-19 and prison policies related to communication with family members.

“…Recent work indicates that the frequency, modality, and quality of parent–child contact during parental incarceration are all important factors for both parents and children (Cramer et al, 2017). Studies focusing on incarcerated parents have found that more parent–child contact during incarceration, usually in the form of phone calls and visits, is associated with more engaged parent–child relationships during reentry, as well as better parental mental health and lower recidivism (e.g., McKay et al, 2019; Thomas et al, 2020; Visher et al, 2013). This is even true to some degree for video visits (Duwe & McNeeley, 2020).…”

Collateral Consequences: The Impact of Incarceration on African American Fathers and Their Sons

“…This further led to the destruction of families, as women and children in low-income communities were left to cope without husbands and fathers (Western & Wildeman, 2009). The systemic oppression of African American men has led to more than 1.1 million imprisoned in the United States, with approximately 500,000 being fathers between 25-29 years of age (Modecki & Wilson, 2009;Thomas et al, 2022). In 2017, African American men were sentenced six times more than white men (Thomas et al, 2022).…”

“…The systemic oppression of African American men has led to more than 1.1 million imprisoned in the United States, with approximately 500,000 being fathers between 25-29 years of age (Modecki & Wilson, 2009;Thomas et al, 2022). In 2017, African American men were sentenced six times more than white men (Thomas et al, 2022). In 2021, The Sentencing Project estimated that 1 in 12 African American men are in prison or jail on any given day, and 1 in 3 are at risk of going to prison in their lifetimes (The Sentencing Project, 2021).…”