Substance-Abusing Parents in the Criminal Justice System: Does Substance Abuse Treatment Improve Their Children's Outcomes?

Abstract

The expansion of the criminal justice system over the last several decades helped to focus attention on children of incarcerated parents, many of whom have parents with substance abuse problems. Since the 1990's, a national grassroots campaign has been underway to make substance abuse treatment an alternative to incarceration for parents who commit non-violent crimes. The question of interest in this article is what evidence there is, if any, that treating parental substance abuse changes children's outcomes. To answer this question, a systematic search was conducted for evidence that parental substance abuse treatment either (1) prevents children from developing serious problems (e.g., substance abuse, emotional=behavioral problems, and delinquency) or (2) ameliorates problems if children have already developed them. The key finding is that existing research is limited to studies primarily of the birth outcomes of children born to pregnant and perinatal substance-abusing mothers. Little is known about how treating parents' substance abuse problems affects the outcomes of older children or children of substance-abusing fathers.

The Unmet Need for Mental Health Services Among Probationers' Children

“…One of the ''selling points'' of these programs is their purported benefits to children. Evaluation of such programs, however, typically focuses only on changes in parents' behaviors (e.g., changes in knowledge of parenting skills, substance use, and so forth) (Harm & Thompson, 1997;Palm, 2003;Spring, 1998) and, in some cases, on improvements in family conditions (e.g., reduced family conflict), some of which may have spill-over benefits for children (Phillips, Gleeson, & Waites-Garret, 2009). Notably missing from the evaluation of these programs are indicators of their effect on children's existing emotional and behavioral problems.…”

Correlates of Serious Violent Crime for Recently Released Parolees With a History of Homelessness

“…Of those participants committing such crimes, two-thirds had poor parental relationships and close to one-half described their families as not being close. Parental engagement and child-rearing practices, as well as parental substance use and incarceration, have been described as predictors of violent behavior in the literature (Phillips et al, 2009; Turner et al, 2007; Woldoff & Washington, 2008). A longitudinal, multiple cohort study of delinquency in boys from adolescence to young adulthood found that boys with four or more violence risk factors were six times more likely to commit violence and 14 times more likely to commit homicide as young adults than those with less than four risk factors (Loeber et al, 2005).…”

“…Other factors that may negatively influence the child-parent dynamic include parental substance abuse (Phillips et al, 2009; Woldoff & Washington, 2008). Parental risks increase a child’s exposure to poor living conditions, decrease access to education, and foster emotional and behavioral problems; these factors place the youth at risk for criminal behaviors, including violent criminality (Phillips et al, 2009; Turner et al, 2007). Results from this study provide further evidence that poor parental relations may negatively influence violent criminal activity into adulthood.…”

“…Violent offenders frequently have a history of experiencing a myriad of adverse personal, social, and developmental challenges (Huebner, Varano, & Bynum, 2007; Phillips, Gleeson, & Waits-Garrett, 2009). …”

Preliminary Evidence for Infusing Mindfulness, Yoga and Parenting Education Training on the Resilience-building Capacity for Incarcerated Fathers

“…Father involvement is also related to children's outcomes. Children with involved, well-adjusted, resilient fathers who display warmth are significantly more likely to be emotionally stable and positive (Cuffe, McKeown, Addy, & Garrison, 2005), have healthy self-esteem, and exhibit empathy and pro-social behavior (Griffin, Botvin, Scheier, Diaz, & Miller, 2000;Phillips, Gleeson, & Waites Garrett, 2009).…”