The Parent-Child Relationship as a Moderator for the Effects of Parental Incarceration on Juvenile Delinquency

• In Event: Children of Incarcerated Parents

Abstract

Over the past several decades rates of incarceration have risen dramatically within the United States. With this rise in imprisonment comes a subsequent increase in children with one or more parents removed from the home. As of the 2010 Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, approximately 1.7 million children under the age of 18 had a parent in either state or federal prison. Past literature has demonstrated the importance of various family processes on the relationship between parental incarceration and juvenile delinquency, yet more research is needed to understand the effects of potential moderators of this relationship. Therefore, I look at the quality of the parent-child relationship as a moderator. I utilize the main head of household questionnaire within the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) as well as its Child Development Supplement (CDS). Using both of these components, I examine the effect of the quality of the parent-child relationship prior to, during, and after periods of parental incarceration to track any significant differential effects over time on reports of juvenile delinquent outcomes.

Author

• Nicole Harrington, Pennsylvania State University