This article reports on an interview-based longitudinal study to determine the impacts of fatherhood, and positive or negative family relationships, on criminal justice outcomes.
A growing body of literature assesses the relationship between fatherhood and criminal justice outcomes, including recidivism. Minimal research views this relationship within the context of substance use disorders (SUDs), a common and critical complication to desistance pathways. Using a longitudinal sample, the authors assess the relationship between fatherhood and desistance both quantitatively (n = 177) and qualitatively (n = 60). Finding null results in survival analyses, the authors’ analysis focuses primarily on their in-depth interviews, which shed light on the complicated juxtaposition between positive fatherhood identities and barriers to child reunification. They find that fatherhood provides a motivating source of positive identity, but fractured relationships with children and co-parents impact the actualization of parenting goals.(Published Abstract Provided)