NCJ Number
203592
Journal
Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies Volume: 52 Issue: 3 Dated: July 2003 Pages: 195-204
Date Published
July 2003
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined the social, health, and economic implications of incarceration on the families of felony offenders.
Abstract
Despite the fact that millions of children have parents who are incarcerated, little is known about how families are affected by incarceration. The implications of incarceration for families of felony offenders have become even more salient as incarceration trends continue to increase. The authors interviewed 56 caregivers who were visiting an incarcerated family member during children’s visiting hours. The research relied on a conceptual framework that acknowledges the loss associated with a parent’s incarceration; some elements of the interview instrument were taken from a preexisting instrument used to study family change and divorce. Most questions were closed-ended, Likert-type items or checklists; demographic and economic information were also collected. The results of step-wise multiple regression analysis and qualitative analysis revealed that most of the families of incarcerated offenders were at-risk economically prior to the incarceration and were even more economically challenged following the incarceration. Incarceration also created or exacerbated the problems of parenting strain, emotional stress, and children’s loss of involvement with their incarcerated parent. Interventions and policy changes that address the problems faced by families of incarcerated offenders continues to be a pressing need that is rarely met by the criminal justice system. The implications of this research for policy and practice are discussed, including the development of programming that confronts the social and economic harms to families created by incarceration. Tables, references