NCJ Number
147378
Journal
Hospital and Community Psychiatry Volume: 44 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1993) Pages: 656-660
Date Published
1993
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Data from 16 children who had experienced the incarceration of one or both parents and 21 children with no history of parental incarceration were used to determine the relationship between parental incarceration and behavioral and family characteristics among children in a day hospital.
Abstract
The children were all in treatment in the children's day hospital at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, Westchester Division, in White Plains, New York. The program is a generally long-term, academically oriented day hospital for children ages 5-12. Data were collected by means of a record review and interviews of the child's current caretaker. The data were analyzed using chi square and t-test techniques. Results revealed that children in the parental incarceration group were significantly more likely to have experienced parental drug abuse than those whose parents had not been incarcerated. A history of child abuse or maltreatment also appeared to be more likely among the parental incarceration group. Boys whose fathers had been incarcerated received higher teacher ratings of delinquent and aggressive behavior. Paternal incarceration among girls was associated with a significant increase in attention problems. Findings indicated that a history of parental incarceration may be quite common in some mental health samples of children and appears to be associated with severe family dysfunction and behavioral disorders. Tables and 23 references (Author abstract modified)