A Developmental Perspective on Children With Incarcerated Parents

Abstract

Parental incarceration is a socially relevant topic with substantial implications for children, yet it is understudied by child development scholars. About 2.6 million U.S. children currently have a parent who is incarcerated, and by age 14, one in 14 U.S. children experiences a resident parent leaving for jail or prison. In this developmentally oriented review, we summarize research on associations between parental incarceration and child well‐being, and suggest areas where developmental scientists can contribute. While most analyses of large population‐based U.S., datasets have found that experiencing paternal incarceration typically has detrimental implications for child well‐being, especially as children grow older, analyses of maternal incarceration have yielded less consistent findings. Longitudinal population‐based developmental studies focusing on parental incarceration, especially early in life through adulthood, are urgently needed to answer basic questions, clarify mixed findings, inform policies, and develop interventions for vulnerable children.

Against the Odds: A Structural Equation Analysis of Family Resilience Processes during Paternal Incarceration

“…Empirical research has clearly documented how the adversities for children with a parent in prison stem from intensified economic hardship and consequent family difficulties [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. Consistent with the FIF, findings from the present study support the idea that existing stressors such as material hardship predict family level outcomes.…”

“…for youth with an incarcerated parent [ 19 , 22 ]. Based on the extant literature, we can reasonably conclude that PI overwhelmingly produces increased risks for youth and families across the world [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ], even among countries with extensive social safety nets [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 25 , 28 ]. Nevertheless, there is a significant lack of research that uses a resilience framework to examine family resilience processes in the context of PI [ 31 , 33 ].…”

Paternal incarceration and children's reading achievement: The role of maternal caregiving quality

“…For example, Foster and Hagan (2013) suggest that paternal influences will more strongly impact sons, whereas maternal influences may more strongly impact daughters due to the heightened salience of same-sex role models. Consistent with this explanation, as compared to daughters, several studies have documented poorer behavioral functioning among sons with incarcerated fathers (Haskins, 2015;Poehlmann-Tynan & Turney, 2021;Wildeman, 2010). Of note, however, research examining nonbehavioral outcomes, such as those related to education, yields mixed gender patterns.…”

Witnessing Parental Arrest As a Predictor of Child Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms During and After Parental Incarceration

“…Notably, much of the recent literature in this area specifically examines populations up to age eight (e.g., Muentner et al, 2021 ; Poehlmann-Tynan et al, 2021 ), with little examination of how effects might vary as children age. This is particularly important in the context of prior literature on development for children with incarcerated parents, which suggests that risks and impacts of incarceration affect children differently beginning at approximately age eight, at which point emotional difficulties and attention concerns may transition to externalizing behaviors and difficulty in school (e.g., Poehlmann-Tynan & Turney 2020 ). This gap in the research literature suggests that greater attention is needed on documenting the impact of witnessing arrest on children during the various stages of development.…”