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Exploring heterogeneity of caregiver incarceration and its association with youth functioning

Fri, April 13, 10:15 to 11:45am, Hilton, Floor: Third Floor, Minneapolis Grand Ballroom-Salon B

Abstract/Description

Explorations of youth outcomes related to parental incarceration disproportionately focus on paternal incarceration; less is known about the effects of maternal incarceration, the effects of having both parents incarcerated, or the effects of having a non-parental incarcerated caregiver. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether youth experience caregiver incarceration differently depending upon who was incarcerated.
Caregivers applying for their children to join youth mentoring programs completed questionnaires related to incarceration circumstances and youth outcomes; youth completed questionnaires related to youth outcomes. In a sample of 1106 youth who had an incarcerated caregiver (mean age = 11.93 years old, sd = 2.14 years), 76 youth had a mother who was their only incarcerated caregiver, 589 youth had a father who was their only incarcerated caregiver, 176 youth had both an incarcerated mother and father, and 67 youth had a non-parental incarcerated caregiver.

The majority of youth knew about their caregiver’s incarceration (89%) and the rate did not vary based upon who was incarcerated. Approximately 16% of youth in the sample witnessed the arrest of their caregiver (χ2(2)=27.07, p<.0001), but youth were disproportionately more likely to witness the arrest of their mothers (37%) than their fathers (13%) or non-parental caregivers (17%). Likewise, youth were disproportionately less likely to visit their incarcerated father (29%) than their incarcerated mother (44%) or non-parental incarcerated caregiver (41%) (χ2(2)=8.98, p<.05) in prison. Incarceration was disproportionately more likely to result in relocation when the mother was incarcerated (36%), compared to the father (20%) or non-parental caregiver (12%) (χ2(2)=13.53, p<.01), but disproportionately more likely to result in loss of household income when the father was incarcerated (30%), compared to the mother (16%) or non-parental caregiver (19%) (χ2(2)=9.54, p<.01). Incarceration resulted in increased stress for the majority of the sample (51%) with reduced stress for some (10%). Overall, 31% of the sample reported shame associated with caregiver incarceration, but the percentage varied based upon the incarcerated caregiver; 48% reported shame when the mother was incarcerated, compared to 30% when the father was incarcerated and 18% when a non-parental caregiver was incarcerated (χ2(2)=15.29, p<.001).
Approximately 42% of the youth reported engaging in delinquent behavior but the rate varied by incarcerated caregiver (χ2(3)=10.61, p <.05) with youth with an incarcerated non-parental adult reporting a disproportionately lower rate of delinquent behavior (31%), compared to youth with an incarcerated parent (ranging from 43-47%). Youth with incarcerated mothers were more likely to report that people admire their incarcerated parent and that people tell them that they remind them of their incarcerated parent. Girls were more likely to be told that they reminded others of their incarcerated mother. Youth with incarcerated fathers reported more hope for the future than youth with incarcerated mothers (mean diff = 0.27, p<.05). Youth who had both an incarcerated mother and incarcerated father reported better relationships with their teachers. Results are discussed in terms of attachment theory and the implications of findings for policy and intervention with this high-risk population.

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