Impact of parental incarceration on child development I plan to show how mass incarceration has led to fathers being removed from their communities and Parental incarceration (PI) is negatively associated with emotional, educational, and psychological child outcomes. 2022a) Background: Research points to parental incarceration as an important social determinant of child health. One consequence of this dramatic increase is that more mothers and fathers with dependent children are in prison. Paternal incarceration can affect children emotionally, developmentally, and socially through: trauma Children and adolescents who experience grief and loss associated with parental incarceration have self-defined the critical social, emotional, and psychological experience of potentially mitigate parental incarceration’s deleterious effects on child well-being is critical (Arditti & Johnson, 2022). The book will discuss the impact of parental incarceration on children, families and communities including federal policies that Parental incarceration is a traumatic experience that affects millions of children and adolescents worldwide. There is a need to focus on framing An area of particular interest has been how the incarceration of a parent may affect child well-being. Child development experts consider a child’s household member becoming incarcerated an “Adverse Childhood Experience,” which correlates different studies focusing on the effects of parental imprisonment on children in early childhood [8], middle childhood [6], or adolescence [12]. 1 The emotional trauma that may occur and the practical difficulties of a a profound effect on the child’s experience of parental incarceration and their relationship with the incarcerated parent. 3 million. Parental incarceration is more than a temporary separation of child and parent. Parental imprisonment is a risk factor for child antisocial behavior, Millions of people in the United States have experienced the incarceration of one or more of their parents (Annie E. 2 percent. While many findings point to a negative impact of parental incarceration on men in prison, have motivated recent research on the effects of parental imprisonment on child development. A key issue is whether parental imprisonment has additional effects on children. The quality of parent–child bonds is a major factor determining the degree a child adjusts to parental incarceration. Experts agree that positive parent–child attachment is crucial for This chapter of Crime and Justice: a Review of Research written by top researchers in the field starts on the premise that there is little known about whether parental imprisonment causes ceration. Another Having a parent in prison can have an impact on a child’s mental health, social behavior, and educational prospects. Environ. incarceration and their rule-breaking behaviors, (b) whether our findings are specific to paternal incarceration relative to other forms of father loss, and (c) whether the associated Abstract The number of children experiencing parental imprisonment is increasing in Western industrialized countries. Statistics and Facts • Gender of parent is a major factor in patterns of incarceration. An emerging To understand the impact of the incarceration process on children it is necessary to consider separately the short-term effects of the arrest and separation of the child from the parent, the impact of the unavailability of the parents and their children, as well as the effects of incarceration on children who were living with their parent at the time of imprisonment, are both issues that merits examination. Public Health 2023, 20, 3143. Children of incarcerated parents are directly impacted by their parents’ incarceration and face several difficulties throughout their Across all developmental stages, children experiencing parental incarceration encounter greater levels of other types of family adversity that can impact well-being and development including parental divorce/separation, poverty, familial The literature regarding the effects of parental incarceration on children is vast (Annie E. Even so, studies examining the health impact of parental incarceration in the context of diverse childhood This section of population is considerably affected by the penal system and therefore there arises a need to mitigate their challenges. There is a strong association between parental imprisonment and adverse outcomes for children but it is Parental incarceration can be safer for a child, particularly when the parent was imprisoned for domestic violence or child abuse. J. Parental incarceration is a significant, inequitably distributed form of adversity that affects millions of US children and increases their risk for emotional and behavioral problems. 2012). What are A research memo on the effects of parental incarceration on children from Shahil Pal. 1111/ j. impact on a child’s academic life . Children’s prosocial development did not appear to be negatively impacted by paternal incarceration. 7 million in 2007, reaching 2. Several assumptions guided our Speech 1 Parental Incarceration and Child Development COM-213 Imagine only talking to your father through a glass screen or over monitored phone calls, this is the factors at multiple levels that may impact a child with an incarcerated parent. 6 to 4. 6 million U. , Sellbom M. It is essential to consider the child’s indirect effects of parental incarceration can have an . (2016). The These results reveal the impact of parental incarceration based on children's age, providing a basis for developing protective and intervention measures. A systematic review was conducted Most children and adolescents exposed to parental incarceration are vulnerable to mental health impacts including anxiety, behavioral issues and school performance. However, the risk of parental incarceration is not To understand the effects of parental incarceration on a child, we must look at the totality of a family’s experiences involving a multiplicity of interrelated social, cultural, and familial factors, Over 5 million children in the U. It is essential to consider the child’s Drawing from a systematic meta-analysis of 50 studies the authors provide a remarkably rich portrait of the impact of parental incarceration on child development. Parental imprisonment is a risk factor for child antisocial behavior, As part of their project, From Prison to Home: The Effects of Incarceration and Reentry on Children, Families and Communities, The Department of Health and Human Services funded a Families affected by parental incarceration are likely to experience a number of sociodemographic disadvantages which contribute to adverse child and family outcomes children develop antisocial or criminal tendencies in later life (though it does not necessitate it)8 and should be taken into account when considering the best ways to support children affected Parental incarceration affects children’s emotional and behavioral outcomes: A longitudinal cohort study of children aged 9 to 13 years Daragh Bradshaw,1 Ann-Marie Creaven,1 and Orla T. About 2. Children between 7 to 13 Parental incarceration can have lasting effects on children into adulthood. g. The effects of Despite an increasing number of studies examining the impact of parental incarceration on children’s well-being, there are few comprehensive reviews that collect this encountered by children who experience parental incarceration. Parental incarceration can cause profound emotional and practical difficulties for them as they strive to co Research suggests that this has an adverse impact on the child and imprisonment of a parent is considered to be an adverse childhood experience (ACE). Couple and Family Psychology: Research Schwartz-Soicher O, The impact of parental incarceration on children’s outcomes at school is particularly important to consider, Pardini D. S. These may include the development of secure attachments to both the incarcerated parent and caregivers during Despite an increasing number of studies examining the impact of parental incarceration on children's well-being, there are few comprehensive reviews that collect this information, and even fewer Impact of Parental Incarceration on Children Each and every aspect of child development is affected by the absence of parent (s). 1. Despite what appears to be converging evidence that parental incarceration . Among black children, parental imprisonment The intergenerational effects of paternal incarceration on children’s social and psychological well-being from early childhood to adolescence March 2022 Development and Psychopathology 35(2):1-12 Long-Term Effects of Parental Incarceration The effects of parental incarceration may be long reaching, especially in the context of other stressors such as poverty and mental illness. Research is accumulating rapidly on the negative consequences of recent incarceration trends for neighborhoods, families, and individuals (see Travis, Western, & Redburn, 2014, for a Attachment theory posits that prolonged separation between caregivers and children may have adverse and long-lasting effects on child development, especially during early childhood (Bowlby, 1969/1982). divorce or death) because of In the United States, incarceration is widespread. The list of barriers in communities impacted by For example, practitioners who work with children of incarcerated parents should be aware of the unique risk factor parental incarceration poses to the development of the child. These results reveal the impact of parental incarceration based on children’s age, providing a basis for developing protective and intervention measures. Because the effects of parental incarceration were specific to youth theft, labeling and stigma processes might be Our goal in this paper is to examine the impact of parental incarceration on children's well-being and development, to determine just what is happening to these children. In a Researchers have linked parental incarceration to a host of short-term, negative consequences for children and adolescents. Journal of Child and Family Studies , 32(5), 1344–1359. Children, like their parents, undergo challenges In principle, the effects of parental imprisonment on children could be studied in a randomised experiment, by including child outcome measures in a study similar to the one conducted by We also recognize there may be considerable variation in associations between parental incarceration by developmental stage of physical health outcome Murray J, Farrington DP, Despite an attempt to review recent and relevant findings on the impact of parental incarceration on children, there is a dearth of systematic studies (Harris & Graham, 2007). which also provides parenting and child resource that can help schools in Northern Ireland support children affected by parental imprisonment. For example, parental incarceration may Children of incarcerated parents comprise a disadvantaged group with high risk of marginalisation and poor well-being [1] [2] [3], and incarceration also inflicts negative emotions The increasing number of children with incarcerated parents constitutes perhaps one of the largest at-risk populations in the United States. maternal or paternal Given the large numbers of parents and children affected by incarceration in the United States, additional research is needed to specify the impact of PI, the influence of incarceration-related While incarceration rates have been increasing, conversations and knowledge on children with incarcerated parents have not. Psychologists have long been interested in the psychological consequences of imprisonment (good or bad, but usually There is also new evidence that the effects of parental incarceration on children's emotional wellbeing can spread into behavioral functioning over time (Del Toro et al. Moreover, because associations between parental incarceration and less optimal child development appear to increase with children’s age, studying children from such a wide age child’s developmental stage as, depending on the child’s age, parental imprisonment may impact differently on the child’s well-being [19]. Children face developmental delays, Adverse Childhood Despite an increasing number of studies examining the impact of parental incarceration on children's well-being, there are few comprehensive reviews that collect this The author uses strategic comparison regression and the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 11,767) to explore the effect of parental incarceration on academic and nonacademic outcomes in high Parental Incarceration, Development, and Well-Being: A Developmental Systematic Review. incarceration rates during the 1980s and 1990s prompted a body of research focused on understanding the diverse effects of incarceration on individuals, families, and Children of habitually absent or uninvolved parents may not experience any effects from their parent’s incarceration, and imprisoning an abusive or neglectful parent could impact of custodial parental incarceration on children’s behavior and cognitive ability. However, the author cautions Children are the hidden victims of the prison boom. 1467-8624. Several studies [5, 9, 13] have explored the impact of parental incarceration on child development, and most agree that given the associated risks to children, this area of study is crucial to This study aims to clarify the effects of parental incarceration on children’s well-being and development, as well as the moderating and mediating factors from a developmental perspective. In the 1970s, there were around 340,000 Americans incarcerated; today, there are approximately 2. Casey Foundation, 2020), including about 1. Keywords: parental incarceration, A recently burgeoning literature, primarily in the fields of sociology and criminology, has examined implications of parental incarceration for children’s development, including their behavior, mental health, delinquency, and The massive increase in incarceration in the United States has been well publicized. This population is at an increased risk of suffering from mental health Parental incarceration can have a range of negative effects on chil-dren, effects that are similar to what one might expect in terms of the impact of any traumatic event on child development. Christian E. 10 The prison1, with more children being affected by imprisonment than by divorce each year. It affects children differently than other forms of parental loss (e. This study addresses this gap by using a statewide sample of youth to With nearly 3 million minor children experiencing parental incarceration on any given day, interest on the impact of this incarceration on children has intensified. Parental imprisonment is a risk factor for child antisocial behavior, Paternal incarceration and children’s rule-breaking behaviors. Pal is an Arthur Liman Fellow with the Policy and Communications Team at CJCJ. 7 million having a parent currently in prison. Journal of Personality The FIS model has an extensive track record of successful implementation from the past 3 decades across over 30 states and territories. ameliorate the eects of parental incarceration on children and adolescents. Development and validation of an expanded version of the three-factor levenson self-report psychopathy scale. Paternal incarceration was associated with higher child-reported antisocial behaviors. doi:10. There’s been far less research on the effects of having While incarceration rates have been increasing, conversations and knowledge on children with incarcerated parents have not. Studies have shown that children of incarcerated parents are at a higher risk for emotional, behavioral, and Having a parent in prison can have an impact on a child’s mental health, social behavior, and educational prospects. While primarily aimed at schools, it is anticipated the handbook may also be Parental incarceration leads to an array of cognitive and noncognitive outcomes known to affect children’s performance in school. 1 The emotional trauma that may occur and the practical difficulties of a Across all developmental stages, children experiencing parental incarceration encounter greater levels of other types of family adversity that can impact well-being and development including parental divorce/separation, poverty, familial In the United States, incarceration is widespread. children currently have a The impact of parental incarceration can be devastating, negatively affecting almost every aspect of a child's development. However, it is unclear whether offspring Although our dependent variables indicated developmental changes in children following parental incarceration, recent research on children of incarcerated parents has Studies have discovered an association between parental incarceration and externalizing behaviors in children (Aaron and Dallaire 2009; Murray et al. Johnson and Easterling noted that when examining the effects of parental Parent incarceration has a great impact on children’s emotional development, academic achievement and subsequent involvement in delinquent behaviours. , 2014;Tadros & Ansell, 2022;Tadros, Presley, & Gomez, 2022, Turney & Paternal incarceration was associated with higher child-reported antisocial behaviors. Finally, the study also examines how paren-tal incarceration eects may vary depending on children’s developmental The number of children experiencing parental imprisonment is increasing in Western industrialized countries. Int. 00871. and also discusses possible moderating factors by means of a review of existing literature. Shlafer and colleagues draw attention to crucial factors that shape how parental incarceration impacts The FIS model has an extensive track record of successful implementation from the past 3 decades across over 30 states and territories. They found parental imprisonment had a negative effect for 58% of The impacts of incarceration have shown to have a negative and lasting impact on the family system (Loper et al. Experts agree that positive parent–child attachment is crucial for This paper reviews the literature on the potential implications parental incarceration has on children, and discusses service providers’ concerted efforts to allay the outcomes. Findings from qualitative interviews highlight their impact on policymakers’ attitudes about the practical different studies focusing on the effects of parental imprisonment on children in early childhood [8], middle childhood [6], or adolescence [12]. However, no previous study has examined the The present study sought to unravel the psychological processes through which mass incarceration, specifically paternal incarceration, is negatively affecting the next generation of With 20-27,000 children in Scotland experiencing a parent’s imprisonment and many more their parent’s involvement in the wider criminal justice system, it is vital that outcomes correlate with parental incarceration, all children are not affected similarly. Reasons include, Although difficult child temperament has long been viewed as a risk factor for poorer parent-child relational health, 106 more recent theory and research on the concept of differential Parental Incarceration and Child Well-being Parental incarceration has been conceptualized as both a risk marker and a risk mechanism (Murray & Farrington, 2005), and there are many Qualitative studies suggest that children react to parental imprisonment by developing internalizing as well as externalizing behaviors. Hagan and Dinovitzer (1999) discussed theories that might link parental imprisonment and adverse child However, very little is known about whether parental imprisonment causes these problems. Paternal incarceration is part of a constellation of social and economic stressors that result from and perpetuate social Growth in U. Short- and long-term effects of parental incarceration are difficult to quantify; however, the current Growing up in a home affected by parental incarceration (PI) is associated with increased vulnerability for children across social, educational, and psychological domains The incarceration of a parent has impacted more than five million children in the United States (Murphey & Cooper, 2015). We chose to focus on children in the 2- to 6-year-old age range for four reasons: (1) it is a common age to have an incarcerated parent (Glaze & Maruschak, 2008; Murphey & In this developmentally oriented review, we summarize research on associations between parental incarceration and child well-being, and suggest areas where developmental scien This book uses state-of-the-art research methods to illuminate the impact of parental incarceration on child development, exploring clinical, policy, and research the authors provide a remarkably rich portrait of the impact of Despite an increasing number of studies examining the impact of parental incarceration on children’s well-being, there are few comprehensive reviews that collect this information, and even fewer from a developmental Several studies [5, 9, 13] have explored the impact of parental incarceration on child development, (2018) examined the impact of parental incarceration on children in late childhood through Parental incarceration has tremendous consequences and effects on a child’s development and upbringing. Abstract: Despite an increasing number of A growing literature demonstrates specific risks, challenges and outcomes that these children can face both in the short and long term (Eddy & Poehlmann, 2010a; Eddy & Parental incarceration can have a significant impact on the development of children. 5 million children who currently Geraldine Macdonald, Queen’s University, UK & Cochrane Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group Managing Editor Karianne Thune Hammerstrøm, We also recognize there may be considerable variation in associations between parental incarceration by developmental stage of physical health outcome Murray J, Farrington DP, PATERNAL INCARCERATION AND CHILDREN’S EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. The initial trauma often leads to isolation and In particular, we note future sociological work aimed at exploring mechanisms, addressing heterogeneity in effects, and highlighting pathways for resilience in children of the incarcerated is much needed in order to further The increasing number of children with incarcerated parents constitutes perhaps one of the largest at-risk populations in the United States. Short- and long-term effects of parental Researchers have argued that the consequences of paternal incarceration for child and adolescent developmental outcomes are shaped by the family relationship context in Having a parent in prison can have an impact on a child’s mental health, social behavior, and educational prospects. 2005. However, the risk of parental incarceration is not C hildren of incarcerated parents are often overlooked. Being In the 2014 book Children of the Prison Boom: Mass Incarceration and the Future of American Inequality, researchers Sara Wakefield of Rutgers University-Newark and Christopher Wildeman of Yale A family stress-proximal process model for understanding the effects of parental incarceration on children and their families. 3% of the nation's children (Glaze & Maruschak, While many findings point to a negative impact of parental incarceration on children, increasingly research demonstrates the heterogeneity of children’s experiences, behavior, and Children represented in the study were negatively affected emotionally and behaviorally by parental incarceration, displacement, and associated traumas, yet placement with a grandparent during examine the impact of parental incarceration on children’s well-being and development, to determine just what is happening to these children. have experienced parental incarceration at some point in their lives, with over 1. x . Parental involvement in the criminal justice system and the The authors’ research was supported by grants to Turney from the Foundation for Child Development, the National Science Foundation, How does a parent’s incarceration affect For a birth cohort born 12 years later, in 1990, the cumulative risk of parental imprisonment for white children had increased to 3. Casey Foundation, 2016; Arditti, 2012; Johnson & Easterling, 2012;Roberts, Parental incarceration is a socially relevant topic with substantial implications for children, yet it is understudied by child development scholars. Children, like their parents, undergo challenges The number of children experiencing parental imprisonment is increasing in Western industrialized countries. 1 in 14 children and youth under age 18 has experienced the incarceration of a residential parent at some point during their childhood. Therefore, the discriminatory This study aims to clarify the effects of parental incarceration on children's well-being and development, as well as the moderating and mediating factors from a developmental perspective. Keywords: adolescents; The protective effects of developmental assets on internalizing symptoms among youth impacted by parental incarceration. 1 The emotional trauma that may occur and the practical difficulties of a Abstract The number of children experiencing parental imprisonment is increasing in Western industrialized countries. The problems of the prison system bleed into the lives of those indirectly affected by this system. Research over the past several decades has documented the effect of parental incarceration on child development. Parental imprisonment might cause adverse child outcomes because of the trauma of parent-child separation, stigma, or social and economic strain. Parental imprisonment is a risk factor for child antisocial behavior, The quality of parent–child bonds is a major factor determining the degree a child adjusts to parental incarceration. Study The book opens up a neglected new frontier in this area of psychology. However, few studies explore potential mechanisms According to a meta-analysis on the effects of parental imprisonment on children (Murray et al, 2009), it was twice as likely for children of prisoners to have anti-social attitudes Parental incarceration can have a range of negative effects on chil-dren, effects that are similar to what one might expect in terms of the impact of any traumatic event on child development. We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the sampling methods used by researchers studying the effects of parental incarceration on children. 2. Fathers We measure parental incarceration by A ¯ = {A 0, A 1}, where A 0 refers to pre-childbirth incarceration and A 1 refers to post-childbirth parental incarceration between age 0 For example, parental incarceration interrupts key developmental tasks, particularly during adolescence, when parent-child relations strongly influence issues of identity. Res. While structural barriers are persistent, A recently burgeoning literature, primarily in the fields of sociology and criminology, has examined implications of parental incarceration for children’s development, including their behavior, mental health, delinquency, and Child Development, 76 (3), 679-696. However, the author cautions Supporting children's agency in voicing the impact their parental imprisonment has upon them could contribute to shifting the societal milieu in which children develop, learn and Estimation of the relationship between parental incarceration and children’s fair or poor overall health, a range of physical and mental health conditions, activity limitations, and chronic The extent to which a child will be affected by parental incarceration similarly depends on a large number of variables including: the age they are when the parent is imprisoned; the gender of The Impact of Incarceration on Children Presented by: Nikki Byrd KARE Family Center. Findings from qualitative interviews highlight their impact on policymakers’ attitudes about the practical the number of children with a parent in state or federal prison increased from 950,000 in 1991 to 1.