Should we be intervening solely (or even mostly) on the basis of parental incarceration?

Abstract

Children who experience parental incarceration are at considerable risk of adverse developmental outcomes throughout the life course. However, the implications for policy and intervention-how best to intervene to reduce or compensate for such risk-depend critically on whether and how parental incarceration causes adverse outcomes or is predominantly a marker of preexisting (and continuing) disadvantage. To the extent that children experiencing parental incarceration face other adverse experiences and conditions that are likely to lead to poor outcomes, irrespective of parental incarceration, interventions should address these preexisting and ongoing disadvantages rather than focusing solely on the parental incarceration experience itself. However, if parental incarceration itself, including the myriad proximal processes that constitute the parental incarceration experience (see, e.g., Chapter 3, this volume), is the cause of adverse child outcomes, then policy and practice would be best served by addressing its specific role 8

A family resilience agenda for understanding and responding to parental incarceration.

“…Ungar & Theron, 2019) suggest broad possibilities for supporting the resilience capacity of children and families experiencing parental incarceration by bolstering institutional systems that support positive child development. Early childhood and place-based policy initiatives are particularly appealing in addressing the needs of children affected by incarceration because they are universal and nonstigmatizing (Noyes et al, 2018). Broad strategies aimed at schools can promote youth resilience to the extent that they facilitate access to individual, relational, and contextual resources in conjunction with children’s families and communities (Masten et al, 2008; Ungar et al, 2019).…”

“…Some studies suggest that parental incarceration is associated with caregiver mental health risks, which, in turn, are theorized to negatively impact parenting (Dallaire & Aaron, 2010). Parental mental health is important in terms of shaping parenting behaviors and heightening or mitigating risk with regard to developmental outcomes among youth (Pettit et al, 2008) and particularly so in families impacted by incarceration (Noyes et al, 2018). For example, Chui's (2016) analysis of caregivers of children aged 6 -18 (predominantly mothers and grandmothers) with incarcerated fathers in Hong Kong revealed high levels of psychological distress that not only significantly explained variation on child adjustment, but also fully mediated the relationship between caregivers' perceived stress and children's internalizing and externalizing behavior.…”

“…and place-based policy initiatives are particularly appealing in addressing the needs of children affected by incarceration because they are universal and nonstigmatizing (Noyes et al, 2018). Broad strategies aimed at schools can promote youth resilience to the extent that they facilitate access to individual, relational, and contextual resources in conjunction with children's families and communities (Masten et al, 2008;.…”

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

“…Incarcerated persons are more likely to experience poverty, reside in low socioeconomic status neighborhoods, and hold low-wage positions before and after incarceration [ 40 , 41 ]. Children of incarcerated parents are significantly less likely to have financial support (e.g., child support and general financial assistance) than children who have not experienced PI [ 19 ].…”

“…Poor caregiver mental health is consistently linked with negative child and family outcomes across a variety of domains [ 41 ] and may be a spillover effect from socioeconomic struggles related to paternal incarceration [ 52 ]. Conversely, research suggests that the mental well-being of the non-incarcerated parent/caregiver may mitigate adverse outcomes during PI [ 27 , 53 ].…”