Meet Them Where They Are: The Importance of Contextual Relevance in Prison-Based Parenting Programs

• Date: 01 September 2020
• Published date: 01 September 2020
• Author: Abigail Henson
• DOI: 10.1177/0032885520939294
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885520939294

The Prison Journal

2020, Vol. 100(4) 468 –487

© 2020 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/0032885520939294

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Article

Meet Them Where They

Are: The Importance of

Contextual Relevance in

Prison-Based Parenting

Programs

Abigail Henson1

Abstract

Parenting from prison is dramatically different than parenting in the

community. The removal from home and redefinition of self that occurs

within the carceral setting often leads incarcerated parents to feel anxious

and inadequate in their parental role. While some prison-based parenting

programs (PBPPs) can assuage these issues, they often lack contextual

relevance, which can make participants frustrated and dissatisfied. Using

an example of a prison-based fatherhood program, this article argues that

in order for PBPPs to have sustained positive outcomes, they must also

address the issues enmeshed in parenting from prison.

Keywords

corrections, parenting, carceral context

Introduction

Parenting is one of the most influential factors for a child’s psychosocial

adjustment (Newman et al., 2011). The ways in which parents engage with

their children can serve as either a risk factor or a protective factor for

children’s developmental outcomes (Gilbert et al., 2009; Hildyard & Wolfe,

1Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA

Corresponding Author:

Abigail Henson, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University,

University Center, 411 N. Central Ave. #600, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.

Email: abigail.henson@asu.edu

939294TPJXXX10.1177/0032885520939294The Prison JournalHenson

research-article2020

Henson 469

2002; Luby et al., 2013; McLeod & Shanahan, 1993; Morris et al., 2017;

Norman et al., 2012; Odgers et al., 2012). For example, the extant literature

finds that parenting practices with high levels of stability and nurturance can

decrease children’s antisocial behaviors, depression, anxiety, and stress

(Luby et al., 2013; McLeod & Shanahan, 1993; Odgers et al., 2012). Parenting

practices with low levels of stability and nurturance, on the contrary, increase

children’s suicidality, depression, drug use, and criminal behavior (Gilbert

et al., 2009; Hildyard & Wolfe, 2002; Norman et al., 2012).

Children of incarcerated parents are especially at risk of experiencing

problematic parenting. Over the last several decades, we have seen a dra-

matic increase in the number of individuals housed in American prisons and

jails, in large part due to the implementation of “tough on crime” policies

(Roberts, 2003; Tonry & Melewski, 2008). As a result, more than 2.7 million

children have an incarcerated parent in the United States (National Resource

Center on Children of the Incarcerated, 2014). Children who experience

parental incarceration are at higher risk of negative social and academic out-

comes, substance abuse, mental health problems, delinquency, adult offend-

ing, and incarceration (The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2012; Makariev &

Shaver, 2010; Murray & Farrington, 2005, 2006; Poehlmann et al., 2010;

Travis et al., 2005; Wakefield & Wildeman, 2014). These findings support

the implementation of prison-based parenting interventions that attempt to

enhance parental knowledge, sensitivity, and responsivity; decrease parental

stress; improve parenting practices; and, overall, improve children’s emo-

tional and behavioral outcomes (Troy et al., 2018).

There are several different styles of parenting interventions that have been

implemented in prisons nationally, with most involving weekly group ses-

sions that teach parents about child development, stress management, and

communication skills (Hoffman et al., 2010; Newman et al., 2011). Some

programs include enhanced visitation (Block & Potthast, 1998; Henson,

2018) while other prisons are home to a prison-nursery program that allows

incarcerated mothers to live with their newborns for a certain period of time

to cultivate secure attachments early in the child’s life (Byrne et al., 2010).

A review of prison-based parenting programs (PBPPs) conducted by Purvis

(2013) found that, for children, PBPPs improved self-esteem, mental health,

well-being, and academic performance and decreased truancy and delin-

quency (Hoffman et al., 2010; Miller, 2006; Poehlmann et al., 2010; Purvis,

2013; Wilson et al., 2010). For incarcerated parents, parenting programs

improved bonding with and empathy toward their child, enhanced knowledge

of child development, and enhanced behavior management (Hoffman et al.,

2010; LaRosa & Rank, 2001; Wilson et al., 2010). In addition, participating in

PBPPs is linked with employment attainment and retention upon release and