Paternal Incarceration and Children's Wellbeing: Why Interparental Violence Matters

• In Event: Conceptualizing Associations Between Familial Background and Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

A growing body of research documents the consequences of parental incarceration for children’s wellbeing. This study uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2,284) to examine: (1) the extent to which the impact of paternal incarceration on children’s behavior depends on children’s exposure to their fathers’ use of physical violence against their mothers and (2) whether the moderating effect of exposure to interparental violence holds for male and female children. The results from ordinary least squares regression models of children’s externalizing behavior show that paternal incarceration and interparental violence are detrimental to youths’ wellbeing, in general. However, the findings suggest that incarcerees’ children whose fathers have abused their mothers have more favorable behavioral outcomes than their counterparts. These patterns are found among males and females. Implications for theory, policy, and future research regarding the ways in which paternal incarceration affects youths’ wellbeing are discussed.

Author

• Heather M. Washington, University at Albany, SUNY