Paternal incarceration and child-reported behavioral functioning at age 9

The Effect of Peer Influence and Neighborhood Quality on Incarcerated Fathers' Attachment

Commonly referred to as the "hidden victims" of incarceration, children with a parent who is intermittently or repeatedly incarcerated face various challenges that exacerbate behavioral and psychological development. Using a baseline adaptation of the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering (MFS-IP), we sought to clarify how peer influence and neighborhood quality can predict the extent of an incarcerated father's attachment to the focal child and partner. Results showed a negative association between negative peer influence and poor neighborhood quality. Conversely, incarcerated fathers' relationship with their biological mother and fathers produced a significant positive association. These findings propose that risk and protective factors can directly influence attachment levels with the focal child, as suggested by Social Control Theory. This article provides a basis for a more comprehensive understanding of clinical support that can be offered to children and families who bear the systemic societal mechanisms of incarceration.

Growing up amid conflict: Implications of the Developmental Peacebuilding Model

Worldwide, 420 million children are affected by conflict and over half of all children experience violence every year. Thus, youth are unarguably affected by war and settings of persisting societal violence. Despite often being conceptualized as either powerless victims or violent perpetrators, recent advances in research and international policy recognize young people as key change agents in transforming adverse settings into positive environments. Framed by the Developmental Peacebuilding Model, this paper focuses on predictors, outcomes and intervention points within the family for youth peacebuilding. Recent advances of family-based interventions in diverse, non-WEIRD samples will be highlighted. Rooted in existing knowledge, we conclude with concrete suggestions on how to use secondary data to investigate youth peacebuilding across the globe.

The intergenerational effects of paternal incarceration on children's social and psychological well-being from early childhood to adolescence

The present study sought to unravel the psychological processes through which mass incarceration, specifically paternal incarceration, is negatively affecting the next generation of children. Data came from 4,327 families from 20 cities who participated in a 10-year longitudinal study. Parents and children reported on children's rule-breaking behaviors and depressive symptoms when they were on average ages 5 (2003-2006), 9 (2007-2010), and 15 (2014-2017). Parental surveys and disposition information were combined to assess paternal incarceration at each age. Results showed that children who experienced paternal incarceration at age 5 also demonstrated more rule-breaking behaviors at age 15. Children's age-9 depressive symptoms partially mediated our finding, such that children who experienced paternal incarceration at age 5 also showed greater depressive symptoms at age 9, which in turn predicted greater rule-breaking behaviors at age 15. Paternal incarceration predicted future rule-breaking behaviors more strongly than did other forms of father loss. Because we found paternal incarceration during childhood is associated with worsened adjustment into adolescence, we discussed the need for developmentally appropriate practices in the criminal justice system.

Mothers' Nonstandard Work Schedules and Children's Behavior Problems: Divergent Patterns by Maternal Education

Increasing evidence has demonstrated that nonstandard work schedules are more prevalent among the less-educated population, and mothers' nonstandard work schedules have adverse influences on children's development. Yet, we have known relatively little about how such impacts differ across the educational distribution. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, random and fixed effects regression results revealed a general "pattern of disadvantage" in the sense that detrimental influences of mothers regularly working nonstandard schedules on children's behavior were concentrated among those born to mothers without high school education, a "truly disadvantaged" group in the contemporary United States. In addition, regular nonstandard schedules appeared to play a mixed role in the behavioral development of children who had college-educated mothers, depending on the specific type of nonstandard schedule. These findings suggest that children born to the least-educated mothers experience compounded disadvantages that may reinforce the intergenerational transmission of disadvantages and also illustrate that negative implications of nonstandard work schedules for child wellbeing may extend to the more advantaged group.

Entwined life events: The effect of parental incarceration timing on children's academic achievement

Parental incarceration has negative effects on children's educational outcomes. Past studies have only analyzed, and therefore only treated as consequential, parental incarceration that occurs during childhood rather than prenatally. Such analyses that emphasize the importance only of events that occur during one's lifetime are common in life course studies. This paper introduces an "entwined life events" perspective, which argues that certain events are so consequential to multiple persons' lives that they should be analyzed as events within multiple independent life courses; parental incarceration, whenever it occurs, is entwined across and shapes both parents' and children's lives. Drawing on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we find that parental incarceration, both prenatal and during childhood, significantly influences children's academic ability measures and years of completed schooling. Our results show heterogeneous effects by children's race. We find that the absolute magnitude of parental incarceration effect estimates is largest for White children relative to estimates for Black and Hispanic children. At the same time, outcome levels tend to be poorer for Black and Hispanic children with parental incarceration experience. We explain this racial heterogeneity as confounded by the many other social disadvantages that non-White children encounter, resulting in the individual effect of parental incarceration not being extremely disruptive to their academic growth.

Parental Incarceration, Development, and Well-Being: A Developmental Systematic Review

Despite an increasing number of studies examining the impact of parental incarceration on children's well-being, there are few comprehensive reviews that collect this information, and even fewer from a developmental perspective. This study aims to clarify the effects of parental incarceration on children's well-being and development, as well as the moderating and mediating factors from a developmental perspective. A systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, selecting 61 studies of children from early childhood to adolescence. The results show differences in the current evidence regarding the effects of parental incarceration on children depending on the developmental stage, with the most evidence in the 7-11-year-old stage. Being male appears as a risk moderator factor while the mental health of the caregiver and their relationship with the child appears as a mediating variable, especially from 7 to 18 years old. These results reveal the impact of parental incarceration based on children's age, providing a basis for developing protective and intervention measures.

Children's socio-moral judgments and behaviors toward peers with and without incarcerated parents

Adults often respond negatively toward children with incarcerated parents. Yet, the developmental foundations for such negativity remain unclear. Two studies (N = 331 U.S. residents; plurality White; plurality male; data collected between Winter 2019 and Spring 2021) addressed this topic. Study 1 probed 5- to 6-year-olds' and 7- to 8-year-olds' inferences about peers with and without incarcerated parents. Children reported less certainty that peers with, versus without, incarcerated parents possess moral beliefs. Study 2 showed that among older children, inferences about parental absence did not fully account for this pattern of results. Across studies, children behaved less generously toward peers with, versus without, incarcerated parents. These studies illuminate how early socio-moral judgment may contribute to negativity toward children with incarcerated parents.

COVID-19 Inspired Relational Telemental Health Services for Incarcerated Individuals and Their Families

The novel coronavirus pandemic has caused marriage and family therapists (MFTs) to alter how they provide clinical services. MFTs must determine how to deliver relationship-oriented services to underserved populations that are often forgotten during crises, including incarcerated individuals and their families. The primary purpose of this paper is to showcase how relational telemental health (TMH) services for incarcerated individuals and their families can increase access to services and improve relational health. Information is presented about corrections in the U.S., effects of incarceration on partners, children, and other family members, the behavioral health and relationship needs of incarcerated individuals, and current approaches to relational mental health and telehealth in corrections. Finally, suggestions are offered on how relational TMH could be used in corrections during the COVID-19 pandemic, including advocacy for collaborative healthcare, recommended implementation practices, and ethical considerations.

The role of stress and absence: How household member incarceration is associated with risky sexual health behaviors

Sexual health is a critical indicator of wellbeing with consequences for population health. However, little is known about whether and how household member incarceration affects the sexual health behaviors of young adults. This study seeks to assess the association between household member incarceration and sexual health behaviors and provides an initial test of mechanisms. Drawing upon data from the NLSY97, this study estimates the association between household member incarceration and sexual health behaviors using linear probability models, and then re-estimates these associations using two alternative comparison groups; 1) youth who experienced other forms of stress, and 2) youth who experienced other forms of family absence. Results indicate that household incarceration is positively associated with a higher risk of reporting sexual intercourse with an intravenous drug user net of individual and family characteristics and is negatively associated with condom use net of individual but not family characteristics. The results also show that the associations between household member incarceration and sexual health behaviors may be attributable, at least in part, to the well documented stress associated with incarceration. Yet, the results provide little evidence that absence is a pathway linking household member incarceration to risky sexual health behaviors. It is possible that household member incarceration is linked to deleterious outcomes for youth through different mechanisms than parental incarceration given the differing roles of parents versus other adults in the home. Future research should explore the pathways linking household member incarceration to health risks for youth and consider household member incarceration as a unique family stressor.

Associations between childhood exposure to community violence, child maltreatment and school outcomes

OBJECTIVES

This study examined whether physical abuse and community violence exposure (CVE) at age 5 were independently associated with academic performance at age 9, whether these effects were mediated by externalizing and internalizing behaviors, and whether the effects of CVE on mental health and academic performance were observed after accounting for the effects of physical abuse.

METHODS

Data were drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Bayesian factor analysis was conducted in Mplus to form latent factors for internalizing behavior, externalizing behavior, and academic performance. Path analysis was then used to examine direct and indirect associations between CVE, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and academic performance.

RESULTS

CVE at age 5 was independently negatively associated with academic performance at age 9. Physical abuse at age 5 was not independently associated with academic performance at age 9. The effects of CVE and physical abuse on academic performance were mediated by externalizing behavior, and not internalizing behavior. CVE, externalizing behavior, and internalizing behavior all had a direct negative association with academic performance, after accounting for the effects of physical abuse on externalizing behavior.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The findings confirmed that community violence has a negative impact on school performance above and beyond the effects of interpersonal violence. These findings reinforce the need for communitywide prevention programs that reduce violence. These findings suggest that more attention needs to be paid to how younger children are impacted by CVE and physical abuse, both through their own experiences or the experiences of their caregivers.

Parental incarceration during childhood and later delinquent outcomes among Puerto Rican adolescents and young adults in two contexts

OBJECTIVE

Childhood parental incarceration has been linked to increased rates of delinquency and arrest during adolescence and young adulthood; however, previous research has focused on White and/or Black samples rather than Latinx youth. We examined relationships between childhood parental incarceration and later delinquency and arrest among Puerto Rican youth living in Puerto Rico (majority context) and the mainland United States (minority context).

HYPOTHESES

We expected that childhood parental incarceration would be significantly linked to delinquent behavior and arrest. In line with acculturation theory, we hypothesized that residence (proxy for minority status) would be significantly related to delinquent outcomes and that an interaction effect would emerge between parental incarceration and residence.

METHOD

Longitudinal data from the Boricua Youth Study were examined for 1,294 Puerto Rican youth from the South Bronx, NY (minority context) and greater San Juan, PR (majority context). We conducted a series of negative binomial and logistic regressions to determine the effects of parental incarceration and residence in childhood on self-reported delinquent behavior and arrest in adolescence and young adulthood, while also examining factors previously linked to delinquency in Puerto Rican youth.

RESULTS

Childhood parental incarceration and South Bronx residence were both linked to delinquent behavior but not arrest, even when simultaneously examining several individual, diagnostic, environment/social, and family factors reported in childhood. However, we did not observe an interaction effect between parental incarceration and residence for either outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that Puerto Rican youth with histories of parental incarceration could benefit from targeted programs aimed at preventing future delinquency. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Longitudinal associations between parental incarceration and children's emotional and behavioural development: Results from a population cohort study

BACKGROUND

Parental incarceration (PI) is associated with adverse developmental outcomes for children affected. However, research in this area often reports conflicting results with few studies following children across time in non-U.S.

POPULATIONS

Additionally, more research is called for using multi-informant perspectives rather than relying on adult reports of child outcomes alone.

METHODS

This study used data from the first two waves of a nationally representative cohort study of 8,568 children aged 9 years and followed up at age 13 living in the Republic of Ireland (2007-2012). Propensity score matching was used to match children who had experienced PI by the age of nine to children who had not experienced PI by sociodemographics and experience of other stressful events. Mental health, as measured by self-concept (Piers-Harris II) and externalizing and internalizing difficulties (strength and difficulties questionnaire), was compared across both groups.

RESULTS

Fifty of the 8,568 children (weighted percentage 0.9%) reported experiencing PI by the age of nine. These children came from more socially disadvantaged homes and were more likely to have experienced other potentially stressful life events. In comparison to a matched sample of children not affected by PI, children affected by PI reported higher levels of anxiety at age nine. Longitudinal analysis indicated these children affected by PI also reported lower levels of happiness at age 13 with higher levels of emotional difficulties reported by their primary caregiver.

CONCLUSIONS

Children of incarcerated parents face a greater array of life challenges. PI had an association with child-reported levels of anxiety at age nine. PI also had a medium-term association on caregiver assessments of emotional difficulties of children affected as well child-reported levels of happiness over time.

Beyond the Classroom: The Intergenerational Effect of Incarceration on Children's Academic and Nonacademic School-Related Outcomes in High School

The author uses strategic comparison regression and the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 11,767) to explore the effect of parental incarceration on academic and nonacademic outcomes in high school. This method compares youth whose parents were incarcerated before the outcomes are measured with those whose parents will be incarcerated after. The author examines most recent grades and a range of nonacademic outcomes, such as truancy, involvement in school activities, and suspension. Results indicate that the associations between parental incarceration and grades are largely accounted for by selection, but associations between parental incarceration and nonacademic processes persist. Maternal incarceration holds particular importance for behavioral outcomes (fighting and truancy), and paternal incarceration holds particular importance for behavioral, connectedness, and disciplinary outcomes. Researchers examining the intergenerational consequences of incarceration should examine school contexts beyond the classroom and explore the pathways through which this disadvantage occurs.

Association of Parental Incarceration With Psychiatric and Functional Outcomes of Young Adults

IMPORTANCE

In 2016, an estimated 8% of US children younger than 18 years had experienced the incarceration of a parent, and rates were substantially higher among children from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds and disadvantaged groups. Little is known about whether parental incarceration during childhood is associated with adult psychiatric problems and functional outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether parental incarceration is associated with increased levels of psychiatric diagnosis and poor outcomes in health, legal, financial, and social domains in adulthood.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This cohort study used data from the community-representative, prospective, longitudinal Great Smoky Mountains Study. Children and their parents were interviewed up to 8 times from January 1993 to December 2000 (ages 9-16 years; 6674 observations of 1420 participants) using the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment, which assessed parental incarceration, childhood psychiatric diagnoses, and other adversities. Young adults were followed up at ages 19, 21, 25, and 30 years from January 1999 to December 2015 (4556 observations of 1334 participants) to assess psychiatric diagnoses and functional outcomes indicative of a disrupted transition to adulthood. Data analysis was conducted from June 2018 to June 2019.

RESULTS

By age 16 years, 475 participants (weighted percentage, 23.9%) had a parental figure who had been incarcerated, including 259 young men (22.2%) and 216 young women (25.5%). Parental incarceration was associated with higher prevalence of childhood psychiatric diagnoses (eg, any depressive diagnosis: adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.5; 95% CI, 1.3-4.6; P = .006; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: aOR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.0-5.5; P = .06; and conduct disorder: aOR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.4-4.3; P = .001). After accounting for childhood psychiatric diagnoses and adversity exposure, parental incarceration remained associated with increased odds of having an adult anxiety disorder (aOR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.0-3.0; P = .04), having an illicit drug use disorder (aOR, 6.6; 95% CI, 2.6-17.0; P < .001), having a felony charge (aOR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.8-6.5; P < .001), incarceration (aOR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.4-5.4; P = .003), not completing high school (aOR, 4.4; 95% CI, 2.2-8.8; P < .001), early parenthood (aOR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.0-3.0; P = .04), and being socially isolated (aOR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.2-4.0; P = .009).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

This study suggests that parental incarceration is associated with a broad range of psychiatric, legal, financial, and social outcomes during young adulthood. Parental incarceration is a common experience that may perpetuate disadvantage from generation to generation.

THE INTERGENERATIONAL STABILITY OF PUNISHMENT: PATERNAL INCARCERATION AND SUSPENSION OR EXPULSION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

OBJECTIVES

I extend the life-course theory of cumulative disadvantage to focus on continuity in punishment across generations. Specifically, I examine (1) the association between paternal incarceration and elementary school suspension or expulsion and (2) the extent to which behavior problems and weakened social bonds explain this association.

METHODS

Analyses rely on logistic regression, propensity score matching, and mediation methods with data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N=3,201), a birth-cohort of children born in large United States cities between 1998 and 2000.

RESULTS

The odds of school punishment among children who had a residential father incarcerated by age five are 75% greater than the odds for children in a matched control group. About one-third of this association is accounted for by behavior problems and weakened social bonds. Even after accounting for behavior problems and social bonds, children whose father was incarcerated are at greater risk of school punishment.

CONCLUSIONS

I find evidence of an intergenerational stability of punishment and mixed support for an intergenerational extension to cumulative disadvantage theory. Paternal incarceration is associated with children's likelihood of experiencing formal punishment in elementary school, and behavior problems and weakened social bonds explain part of this association.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and standardized academic tests: Reliability across respondent type and age

Exploiting nation-wide data from the Danish National Birth Cohort, we show that children’s emotional and behavioral problems measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) are closely related to their performance in standardized academic tests for reading and mathematics in sixth grade. The relationship is remarkably linear across the entire distribution for both the total difficulties score and subscale scores of the SDQ; higher scores on the SDQ (more problems) are related to worse performance in academic tests. We assess the similarity across respondent type; parent (child age 7 and 11), teacher (child age 11) and self-reported scores (child age 11), and find that teacher and parent reported scores have very similar slopes in the SDQ–test score relationship, while the child reported SDQ in relation to the academic test performance has a flatter slope.

The third shift: Multiple job holding and the incarceration of women's partners

A large body of research documents the sensitivity of women's employment to changing family circumstances, but we know little about the relationship between partner incarceration-a common family transition in the lives of disadvantaged women-and employment. Despite reasons to suspect that changes in resources associated with incarceration have consequences for the employment of family members, previous research suggests that partner incarceration does not influence the number of hours women work at their main jobs. This paper uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 3835) to examine how partner incarceration is associated with multiple job holding, an alternative strategy for increasing earnings. Results show that women with incarcerated partners are more likely to work multiple jobs than women in otherwise similar circumstances, suggesting partner incarceration is linked to a "third shift"-to additional employment on top of the paid work and caregiving women already do.

Food Security in the Context of Paternal Incarceration: Family Impact Perspectives

Although research about the unintended consequences of paternal incarceration for family well-being has grown in recent years, there has been minimal exploration of food insecurity. Using qualitative methods, we aimed to understand the relationships between paternal incarceration and family food insecurity in Canada. An ethnographic study (24 months) was conducted that included naturalistic observation and in-depth interviews with formerly incarcerated fathers, their partners, and societal reintegration-focused stakeholders (n = 63). Interpretive thematic analysis based on family impact and intersectional theories, indicated that family food insecurity was elucidated by pre-incarceration, economic, social, health, and relationship factors; stigma and social/structural constraints; and intersections among individual, correctional system, community, and macro-level (i.e., economic, social, policy, physical contexts) factors. Participatory approaches and collaborative action among diverse stakeholders that include practitioners, policy makers, researchers, as well as health, social, and criminal justice agencies can guide best practices in creating supportive food environments for families impacted by adversities of incarceration. In particular, interventions aimed at prescriptive ethics, social justice, and meaningful rehabilitation show promise at mitigating the collateral consequences of incarceration-related food insecurity.

Jailed Parents and Their Young Children: Residential Instability, Homelessness, and Behavior Problems

This study examined family disruption in the form of jailed parents' housing instability in the year leading up to their most recent incarceration, including periods of homelessness with and without their children, and links between parental housing instability and children's behavior problems. Using the Family Stress Proximal Process Model to understand the links between stressors related to family disruption and child outcomes, the study analyzed data from interviews and surveys with 165 jailed fathers and mothers with young children (age 2-6 years) regarding jailed parents' reports of housing instability during the 12 months prior to their incarceration and child behavior problems. Analyses showed that housing instability, homelessness, and recidivism in jailed parents were relatively common, with a significant proportion of the disruptions occurring with young children, although many disruptions involved parental absence from children. Results indicated that the more months that parents lived with their children prior to incarceration in jail during the past year, the less housing instability the parents experienced. Additionally, multiple regression analyses revealed that more housing instability experienced by parents in the year leading up to their incarceration in jail were associated with elevations in children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. These results have implications for future research that explores family disruption as a mechanism in understanding recidivism and homelessness among adults and risk for child behavior problems in families affected by parental incarceration.

Paternal Incarceration and Early Sexual Onset among Adolescents

Despite a growing literature documenting deleterious intergenerational consequences of incarceration, relatively little is known about how exposure to paternal incarceration is associated with risk behaviors in adolescence. In this article, we use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 3,405)-a cohort of urban children born around the turn of the 21st century and followed for 15 years-to examine the relationship between paternal incarceration and one indicator of adolescent risk behavior, early sexual onset. Results from adjusted logistic regression models show that paternal incarceration is associated with a greater likelihood of initiating sexual activity before age 15, in part resulting from externalizing problems that follow paternal incarceration. We also find that these associations are concentrated among boys living with their fathers prior to his incarceration. Given that paternal incarceration is a stressor concentrated among already vulnerable children, paternal incarceration may exacerbate inequalities in adolescent sexual risk behavior.

Health Outcomes of Youth in the United States Exposed to Parental Incarceration: An Integrative Review

In the United States, parental incarceration (PI) has been increasingly recognized as an understudied adverse childhood experience. In response, a rapidly expanding body of research has begun to investigate the effects of PI on youth mental and physical health outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this integrative review was to synthesize recent quantitative evidence investigating the effects of PI on youths' mental and physical health outcomes.

DESIGN AND MEASURES

Electronic strategies were used to find relevant quantitative articles published between September 2006 and 2016 using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses-Equity guidelines. Articles in the review (N = 17) varied in study design and methodologic rigor, complicating the analysis.

RESULTS

In general, U.S. youth exposed to PI are more likely than their unexposed peers to exhibit internalizing and externalizing behavioral difficulties. There is substantially less evidence on the associations between PI and the physical health of youth, in addition to the proposed linkages between exposure to PI and poor health. Overall, there is limited inclusion of contextual specifics of PI (e.g., type and duration of incarceration, relationship quality), which hampers generalizability.

CONCLUSION

Future research could investigate the biological and social linkages between PI and health outcomes. Forensic nurses could help build supportive environments and meaningful behavioral health interventions to assist the health of those youth with a parent incarcerated.

The Unequal Consequences of Mass Incarceration for Children

A growing literature has documented the mostly deleterious intergenerational consequences of paternal incarceration, but less research has considered heterogeneity in these relationships. In this article, I use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 3,065) to estimate the heterogeneous relationship between paternal incarceration and children's problem behaviors (internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, and early juvenile delinquency) and cognitive skills (reading comprehension, math comprehension, and verbal ability) in middle childhood. Taking into account children's risk of experiencing paternal incarceration, measured by the social contexts in which children are embedded (e.g., father's residential status, poverty, neighborhood disadvantage) reveals that the consequences-across all outcomes except early juvenile delinquency-are more deleterious for children with relatively low risks of exposure to paternal incarceration than for children with relatively high risks of exposure to paternal incarceration. These findings suggest that the intergenerational consequences of paternal incarceration are more complicated than documented in previous research and, more generally, suggest that research on family inequality consider both differential selection into treatments and differential responses to treatments.

Schools as Surveilling Institutions? Paternal Incarceration, System Avoidance, and Parental Involvement in Schooling

Parents play important roles in their children's lives, and parental involvement in elementary schooling in particular is meaningful for a range of child outcomes. Given the increasing number of school-aged children with incarcerated parents, this study explores the ways paternal incarceration is associated with mothers' and fathers' reports of home- and school-based involvement in schooling. Using Fragile Families Study data, we find that a father's incarceration inhibits his school- and home-based involvement in schooling, but associations for maternal involvement are weaker. Results are robust to alternative specifications of incarceration that address concerns about selection and unobserved heterogeneity. Findings also hold across levels of father-child contact. We also conducted a test of the system avoidance mechanism and results suggest it partially explains reductions in school involvement for fathers following incarceration. Given the reoccurring interest in the interconnection between families and schools and how this translates into success, this study suggests that paternal incarceration is associated with lower parental involvement in schooling and highlights the role of system avoidance in this association. Attachment to social institutions like schools is quite consequential, and this work highlights another way mass incarceration influences social life in the United States.

Parental Incarceration and Child Sleep and Eating Behaviors

OBJECTIVES

To examine whether parental incarceration is significantly associated with a number of sleep and eating behaviors among offspring during early childhood.

STUDY DESIGN

Data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study, an at-risk sample of parents and their offspring, were employed to test this possibility. Both maternal and paternal incarceration history were examined as predictors of whether children manifested high levels of the following 7 health behaviors: sleep problems, short sleep duration, salty snack consumption, starch consumption, sweets consumption, soda consumption, and fast food consumption. Logistic regression techniques were used to carry out the analyses.

RESULTS

Both maternal and paternal incarceration significantly increased the odds of a number of risky sleep and eating behaviors during childhood. Ancillary analysis also revealed that the predicted probability of exhibiting multiple risky behaviors across the sleep and eating domains was twice as large among children whose parents had both been incarcerated, relative to children whose parents had not been incarcerated.

CONCLUSIONS

Parental incarceration may have important implications for the sleep and eating behaviors of offspring. Both scholars and practitioners may, therefore, want to consider the possible negative repercussions of parental incarceration for the sleep and eating behaviors of children, and the potential for these high-risk health behaviors to compromise the health and well-being of children as they age.

Beyond Boys' Bad Behavior: Paternal Incarceration and Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood

A growing number of American school-aged children have incarcerated or formally incarcerated parents necessitating a more comprehensive understanding of the intergenerational effects of mass imprisonment. Using the Fragile Families Study, I assess whether having an incarcerated father impacts children's cognitive skill development into middle childhood. While previous studies have primarily found effects for boys' behavior problems, matching models and sensitivity analyses demonstrate that experiencing paternal incarceration by age 9 is associated with lower cognitive skills for both boys and girls and these negative effects hold net of a pre-paternal incarceration measure of child cognitive ability. Moreover, I estimate that paternal incarceration explains between 2 and 15 percent of the Black-White achievement gap at age 9. These findings represent new outcomes of importance and suggest that paternal incarceration may play an even larger role in the production of intergenerational inequalities for American children than previously documented.

Mass imprisonment and the life course revisited: Cumulative years spent imprisoned and marked for working-age black and white men

Over the last 40 years, imprisonment has become a common stage in the life-course for low-skilled and minority men, with implications not only for inequality among adult men but also for inequality more broadly. Unfortunately, all research documenting how increases in imprisonment have transformed the life-course of poor, minority men has neglected to estimate how much time black and white men on average spend imprisoned or marked as an ex-prisoner. In this article, we fill this gap by using multistate life tables to estimate what share of their working lives (18-64) black and white men will spend imprisoned and marked as ex-prisoners. Our estimates imply that white men spend on average 0.33 years of their working lives imprisoned and 2.31 years marked, while black men spend on average 1.79 years of their working lives imprisoned and 11.14 years marked. This implies that black men spend on average one-third of their working lives either imprisoned or having been freed but marked by the penal system. For the 32.2% of black men who ever experience imprisonment (Bonczar, 2003), moreover, these estimates imply that they spend on average 5.56 years imprisoned, corresponding to 13.4% of their working lives. Taken together, these findings imply a dramatic reorientation of the life course for black men, as one-third of the black male population will spend one-seventh of their working life in prison.