Paternal incarceration and adolescent well-being: life course contingencies and other moderators.

• Author: Swisher, Raymond R.
• Position: Criminology: Parents Behind Bars, part 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION I. LITERATURE REVIEW A. Parental Incarceration and Childhood Well-Being B. Parental Incarceration and Adolescent Well-Being C. Moderation by Abuse, Coresidence, Temporality, and Gender II. METHODS A. Sample B. Dependent Variables C. Independent Variables D. Analytic Strategy III. RESULTS A. Descriptive Statistics B. Timing of Paternal Incarceration C. Duration and Frequency of Paternal Incarceration D. Histories of Physical and Sexual Abuse E. Moderation by Coresidence with Fathers IV. DISCUSSION CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION (1)

The dramatic increase in incarceration rates in the United States, which many have described as representing an era of "mass incarceration," and its disproportionate impact on persons of lower socioeconomic and minority status, is now fairly well documented. (2) In addition to recognizing the many disadvantages that follow incarceration for those imprisoned, (3) concern is growing about the "collateral consequences" of mass incarceration for the children and families of incarcerated fathers and mothers. (4)

A first generation of studies revealed that parental incarceration was associated with a wide range of negative outcomes in childhood and adolescence, including internalizing (e.g., depression) and externalizing behavior (e.g., delinquency, violence), (5) as well as educational outcomes. (6)

A second generation of research has raised important methodological and substantive issues, such as whether these associations are truly causal in nature, and has delved into the social mechanisms that account for the relationship between parental incarceration and youth outcomes. (7) While the emerging consensus is that parental incarceration likely affects child and adolescent well-being, important research questions remain, including how associations vary across subgroups of the populations (e.g., boys versus girls) and how they are moderated by a variety of factors, including the parent-child relationship history and the timing, duration, and frequency of parental incarcerations.

The present study focuses on this last set of questions regarding the conditions under which parental incarceration is more or less detrimental. These are not simply knobby or trivial methodological issues. Rather, they touch on important debates within the research literature and policy debates. For example, researchers are increasingly asking whether there are circumstances under which parental incarceration may be protective or beneficial to youth, such as when family life is threatened by violence or abuse. (8) Researchers from a human development or life course perspective are asking whether the impact of parental incarceration varies based on the stage in the life course in which it occurs (e.g., during very young childhood versus later in childhood or adolescence). (9) Similarly, one might wonder whether it is more detrimental for a child if the parent is incarcerated once for less than a year (suggesting an isolated minor event) or multiple times throughout childhood and adolescence. Lastly, theory and research on gender differences and inequalities suggest that the effects of parental incarceration may vary across girls and boys. (10) Focusing on paternal incarceration and its associations with adolescent delinquency and depression, we examine these questions and issues using data from the Add Health survey.

1. LITERATURE REVIEW

   1. PARENTAL INCARCERATION AND CHILDHOOD WELL-BEING

      In a review of the recent literature, Murray and Farrington conclude that parental incarceration is a risk factor for a wide range of negative outcomes during childhood, from externalizing behaviors such as aggression, violence, and crime, to internalizing outcomes such as depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems. (11) There are a variety of mechanisms through which these associations likely operate, including loss of attachment due to separation from the parent, diminished familial financial resources, family conflict and instability, parental stress and ineffective parenting by the unincarcerated parent, as well as stigma, negative labeling, and social exclusionary processes. (12)

      As these studies are based on observational samples and not experimental designs (for obvious reasons), scholars have rightly questioned whether selection effects or unobserved factors are driving the relationship between parental incarceration and youth outcomes. Research has shown that disadvantaged families and parents face a multitude of risk factors, including alcohol and drug use, domestic violence, family instability, economic uncertainty, and ineffective parenting that are likely associated with both parental incarceration and negative outcomes for youth. (13) Therefore, parental incarceration may represent little additional risk to youth who reside in such tumultuous home environments. In extreme cases, such as if an incarcerated parent was abusive or exposed the child to dangerous situations, incarceration may even represent a relief from preexisting stressful circumstances.

      Recent studies have used a variety of sophisticated statistical techniques to more fully address the selection issue. For example, Wildeman used a combination of fixed effects and propensity score models to more convincingly argue that paternal incarceration has a causal effect on childhood aggression among Fragile Families respondents. (14) Geller and colleagues observed a similar association within the Fragile Families data using fixed effects and placebo regressions. (15) Using propensity score models and data from the Pittsburgh Youth Study, Murray and colleagues similarly reported a significant positive association between parental incarceration and child behavioral problems. (16) Thus the consensus emerging is that parental incarceration likely has a causal effect on child aggression and externalizing behavior.

      The case is less clear regarding the effects of parental incarceration on child internalizing outcomes such as depression or anxiety. For example, Geller and colleagues found no association between paternal incarceration and child internalizing behavior at age five in the Fragile Families data. (17)

      Based on a meta-analysis of some forty studies, Murray and colleagues concluded that there is no association between parental incarceration and child mental health problems or drug use. (18) In contrast, Wakefield and Wildeman found evidence of a positive association between parental incarceration and child internalizing problems such as depression and anxiety, particularly among girls. (19)

   2. PARENTAL INCARCERATION AND ADOLESCENT WELL-BEING

      Parental incarceration is expected to have negative consequences in adolescence, in part because many of the same mechanisms influencing child well-being--such as the trauma of parental separation, family instability, economic strain, and negative stigma and labeling--would be expected to also undermine adolescent well-being. At the same time, the relative roles of these mechanisms are likely changing, and new influences are emerging due to the unique challenges of adolescence, like the growing influence of peers relative to parents, new romantic and sexual relationships, identity explorations, and the heightened anxiety associated with academic performance and its consequences for future socioeconomic attainments. (20)

      The best evidence to date suggests that parental incarceration is a strong risk factor for delinquency and other problem behavior in adolescence. This association has been observed both in the United States and in international samples. For example, using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Behavior (CSDB), Murray and Farrington found that separations due to parental incarceration were positively associated with a range of antisocial behaviors at ages fourteen, eighteen, and thirty-two, controlling for parental convictions, and compared to separations for other reasons (e.g., the death of parent or divorce). (21) Murray and colleagues also found parental incarceration to be significantly associated with theft and, to a lesser degree, marijuana use, using data from the Pittsburgh Youth Study. (22) Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), Wakefield and Wildeman found adolescents with an incarcerated parent to have higher delinquency, aggression, and externalizing behavior than youth without an incarcerated parent. (23) Finally, using data from the Add Health study, researchers found paternal incarceration to be positively associated with serious delinquency and arrest, (24) and marijuana and hard drug use, (25) in both adolescence and the transition to adulthood.

      As is true for studies of children, results are more mixed with respect to associations of parental incarceration with adolescent depression and other internalizing outcomes. In an analysis based on the CSDB, Murray and Farrington observed long-lasting effects of parental incarceration on boys' internalizing outcomes from ages fourteen all the way to age fortyeight. (26) Similarly, research based on the PHDCN found parental incarceration to be associated with higher internalizing symptoms. (27) Swisher and Roettger also reported a positive association between paternal incarceration and depression in adolescence and the transition to adulthood in the Add Health sample. (28) On the other hand, Murray and colleagues found no association between parental incarceration and depression in the Pittsburgh Youth Study. (29) Using a patient-based sample, Phillips and colleagues found that adolescents with incarcerated parents were more likely to present with attention deficit/hyperactivity and conduct disorders but were less likely to be diagnosed with major depressive symptoms. (30) Moreover, based on their meta-analysis of forty studies, Murray and colleagues concluded that there was little evidence to suggest more than a very small association between parental...