Differential Effects of Maternal and Paternal Incarceration on Child Wellbeing? A Gendered, Life Course Lens on Long-Term Impact

• In Event: The Gendered Context of Life Events and Their Impact on Offending and Desistance

Abstract

Researchers and policy-makers have focused attention on the costs of mass incarceration for families and children. Studies of consequences for child well-being are particularly compelling, as researchers have documented negative effects on emotional health and academic attainment, as well as increased risk for delinquency and criminal involvement. Given the traditional close-in role of mothers in caregiving and family functioning, scholars have suggested that maternal incarceration may be even more detrimental to children’s development (Murray & Farrington, 2008). Yet some research findings indicate stronger effects of paternal incarceration, highlighting the need for additional research on differential effects. This paper analyzes data from a five wave longitudinal study of a large, diverse sample of respondents (n=1,321) interviewed first as adolescents, and across the transition to adulthood. The current analysis relies on record searches of the criminal justice involvement of their biological parents to document incidences of incarceration prior to the child’s 18th birthday, and examines the impact of maternal and paternal incarceration on children’s academic attainment, depression, and odds of adult arrest. Analyses include a comprehensive set of covariates to address selection, and supplemental models examine the role of child gender as a complicating influence on the parental incarceration – child well-being relationship.

Authors

• Peggy Giordano, Bowling Green State University

• Jennifer E. Copp, Florida State University

• Monica Longmore, Bowling Green State University

• Wendy Manning, Bowling Green State University