Research demonstrates that parental incarceration increases children’s potential for involvement in violence.1 However, this outcome is not inevitable. It is important that all of us family members, friends, neighbors, and providers support children who have incarcerated parents.
Research shows that “the disruption of the parent/child relationship is traumatic and often life changing.”2 Children often find it difficult to bond with an incarcerated parent, leaving them feeling sad, isolated, and alone. It is important to keep kids connected with their incarcerated parents to promote a healthy relationship. In addition to, or in the absence of, visitation, youth can connect to their parents through phone calls and by sending cards and letters, poems, and drawings.
It is also vital that family members, friends, and other mentors’ step in and show up for youth with an incarcerated parent. Reach out to these youth and offer emotional support with an open ear in a non-judgmental zone. Youth need a sense of belonging with positive social groups; without it, they may be vulnerable to seeking it out in negative ways, such as with groups engaged in delinquent behavior.
Family and friends should include these youth in family activities, so they know they are connected to loving adults. Other ways to assist youth include getting them involved in extracurricular activities and to assist with essentials of daily living, including food, healthcare, and housing. Many children and youth will need counseling, so finding those resources in the community is vital.
Most importantly, we must remember that all children have potential, and that “having a parent in prison does not have to define a child’s life.”3 Adults must acknowledge that supporting these youth is how we can keep them from turning to violence and from being victims of violence.
Parental Incarceration and Child Risk Factors
By Edna Garcia-Dipini
Executive Director, RIZE
Director of Programs Not One More, A Peace and Justice Project
Dr. Laurie Grobman, Special Projects Director and Story Project Facilitator Not One More
References
1.Thomson ND, Moeller FG, Amstadter AB, Svikis D, Perera RA, Bjork JM. The Impact of Parental Incarceration on Psychopathy, Crime, and Prison Violence in Women. Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2020 Aug;64(10-11):1178-1194.
2. Paccione?Dyszlewski M. Children of Incarcerated Parents and COVID?19. The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter. 2022 Apr;38(4):8.
3. Beresford S, Loucks N, Raikes B. The health impact on children affected by parental imprisonment. BMJ Paediatr Open. 2020 Feb 10;4(1): e000275.
