Multilevel Effects of Parental Incarceration on Children's Self-Efficacy

• In Event: Parenting, Parental Relationships, and Life-Course Outcomes

Abstract

Research has revealed parental incarceration to be consequential for children’s mental health outcomes, although the influence of parental incarceration on children’s self-efficacy is largely unexplored. Furthermore, few studies have considered whether the consequences associated with parental incarceration extend beyond children who experience the event, and whether the influence of parental incarceration varies by the context in which it occurs. The current study enhances our understanding of the multilevel consequences of parental incarceration by examining how micro-level parental incarceration and macro-level rates of parental incarceration influence children’s self-efficacy using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Moreover, we consider the interrelated association between micro- and macro-level parental incarceration and self-efficacy. Results are discussed with respect to the growing concern over the collateral consequences associated with experiencing the incarceration of a parent.

Authors

• Jessica Finkeldey, Bowling Green State University

• Christopher Dennison, Bowling Green State University