Children of Incarcerated Parents

overwhelming amount of stress and
confusion on the child once they find out
the truth. Age and gender is another
factor that influences how children cope
and react to their parent being
incarcerated. Young children tend to
develop mental and emotional trauma.
Children between the ages of 2 and 6
are prone to feelings of separation
anxiety, traumatic stress, and survivor’s
guilt. Early adolescents may grow up
and be unable to cope with future
trauma, they develop poor concepts of
themselves, and when faced with minor
stress that might be unable to cope. As
children get around the ages of 11-14
their reaction to their parent’s
incarceration starts to reflect in their
behavior. Males are more likely to
express aggression and acts of
delinquency, while females tend to
internalize their emotions by acts of
seeking attention. As these children
become adults from the ages of 15-18,
they prematurely take on the
dependency, and tend to disconnect
from their parents. This will lead to acts
of criminal behavior and ultimately a
cycle of incarceration.
Children who are able to communicate
with their parents are less likely to
experience psychological and
behavioral problems. Through having
contact with their parents, they are able
to have a better understanding of their
parent’s situation, and are less likely to
commit crime that will land them in the
same situation. Although having a
relationship with incarcerated parents
are important for the child, it is also
understood that this can have an
adverse impact on the child. Children
who are in contact with their parents will
experience an emotional roller
coaster. At times children are angry at
the fact that they could not be with their
parents, causing them to act out or
become emotionally withdrawn. Parent
contact gives children a sense of hope
in reuniting with their parents. This
contact also allows for an smoother
transition back into the child’s life once
the parent is released.
Parent-Child Contact
Not only are there large and growing
numbers of parents in prison or jail, the
effects of incarceration on their familial
relationships have associations with
strong negative outcomes. For example,
many women who are
incarcerated endorse being single
mothers, and are often labeled as
inadequate providers for their children
during and after their time in prison or
jail. In fact, 52% of incarcerated mothers
report living in a single-parent
household compared to 19% of
incarcerated fathers. Unlike many male
inmates, whose children are likely to
remain in the care of their wives or
girlfriends, incarcerated females are at
very high risk of losing their children to
the State. The separation and lack of
contact with their children that these
women endorse has been described as
damaging to their mental health. Studies
on mothers post-release have
underscored this conceptualization by
demonstrating that healthy mother-child
relationships have positive impacts on
depression symptoms and self-esteem.
In other words, healthy relationships
with their children appear to improve
women’s emotional health during and
after their time involved in the justice
system.
Further, as time goes on incarcerated
parents are less likely to have contact
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