Exploring the Heterogeneity of Parental Incarceration on Outcomes During Emerging Adulthood

• In Event: Life-Course Consequences of Exposure to Institutions of Control

Abstract

According to recent estimates, 1 out of every 28 children in the United States has a parent behind bars. Given these statistics, research has devoted significant attention to understanding how incarceration of a parent may affect their dependent children. Scholarship consistently finds that parental incarceration has adverse effects on offspring during childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood as well. Yet, few studies have explored in detail why and for whom these effects are most salient. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to and expand upon efforts to understand the long-term effects of parental incarceration. Using four waves of data from AddHealth, we explore the effect of parental incarceration during childhood on various outcomes during emerging adulthood and the potential sources of heterogeneity in these relationships.

Authors

• Brae Campion Young, Florida State University

• Nicole L. Collier, Florida State University

• Daniel P. Mears, Florida State University

• Sonja E. Siennick, Florida State University