Young Fathers in Jail: Associations between Father Experiences, Father–Child Relationships, and Community Stability

Abstract

Research on paternal incarceration has paid less attention to young fathers incarcerated in jail settings where most residents are either pretrial detained or serving out short sentences. This study describes the characteristics of a sample of 103 jailed fathers aged 18 to 25, including two subsamples consist of participants who had opportunity to recidivate (n = 83) and participants who completed trauma history questionnaire (n = 62), and explores associations between father experiences, father-child relationships, behavioral health factors, and recidivism. Results show jailed young fathers have several risk factors as well as strengths. Their father-child relationship is positively associated with training on fathering skills, employment experiences, and self-efficacy, and negatively associated with incarceration history. Employment is the only variable that identifies the differences in recidivism. Implications for a future research agenda are discussed.