Preschool Outcomes of Children Who Lived as Infants in a Prison Nursery

• DOI: 10.1177/0032885514524692
• Date: 01 June 2014
• Published date: 01 June 2014
• Author: Mary W. Byrne,Barbara Blanchard-Lewis,Lorie S. Goshin
• Subject Matter: Articles

The Prison Journal

2014, Vol. 94(2) 139 –158

© 2014 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/0032885514524692

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Article

Preschool Outcomes

of Children Who Lived

as Infants in a Prison

Nursery

Lorie S. Goshin1, Mary W. Byrne2, and

Barbara Blanchard-Lewis3

Abstract

This study examined long-term outcomes of children who spent their first

1 to 18 months in a U.S. prison nursery. Behavioral development in 47

preschool children who lived in a prison nursery was compared with 64

children from a large national dataset who were separated from their mothers

because of incarceration. Separation was associated with significantly worse

anxious/depressed scores, even after controlling for risks in the caregiving

environment. Findings suggest that prison nursery co-residence with

developmental support confers some resilience in children who experience

early maternal incarceration. Co-residence programs should be promoted

as a best practice for incarcerated childbearing women.

Keywords

prison nursery, maternal incarceration, behavioral development

Eight U.S. states currently allow eligible incarcerated women to care for their

infants in special segregated nursery units within prisons (Carlson, 2009;

1Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, New York, NY, USA

2Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, NY, USA

3Columbia University Center for Children and Families, New York, NY, USA

Corresponding Author:

Lorie S. Goshin, Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, 425 East 25th Street, 428W, New York,

NY 10010, USA.

Email: lgoshin@hunter.cuny.edu

524692TPJXXX10.1177/0032885514524692The Prison JournalGoshin et al.

research-article2014

140 The Prison Journal 94(2)

Women’s Prison Association [WPA], 2009). Concerns remain regarding

whether prison nurseries are in these children’s best interest (Pösö, Enroos, &

Vierula, 2010). Long-term developmental outcomes of children who co-

resided with their mothers in prison nurseries have not previously been

described. Post-release results are needed to determine the full effectiveness

of prison nurseries as a policy option for incarcerated childbearing women.

This article reports preschool (3-5 years of age) behavior outcomes of chil-

dren who spent their first 1 to 18 months with their mothers in a prison nurs-

ery. Development in children who co-resided is compared with a subsample

of preschool children from a large national dataset who were separated from

their mothers at some point during infancy or toddlerhood because of incar-

ceration. Results are analyzed in the context of ecological risks associated

with both criminal justice involvement and adverse child development

outcomes.

Children of mothers involved in the criminal justice system are a vulner-

able group. Preschoolers and young school-aged children separated from

their mothers due to incarceration show disproportionately high rates of inse-

cure attachment to their mothers or alternate primary caregiver (Poehlmann,

2005b). Results of research on older children and adolescents strongly sug-

gest a link between maternal incarceration and worse mental health (Dallaire

& Wilson, 2009; Hagen, Myers, & Mackintosh, 2005; Hanlon et al., 2005)

and academic outcomes (Cho, 2009; Trice & Brewster, 2004). As adults, chil-

dren of mothers with a history of incarceration are more likely to have crimi-

nal justice contact than their peers whose mothers do not have this history

(Huebner & Gustafson, 2007).

Child development is affected by ecological risks known to be associated

with both incarceration and child development (Kjellstrand & Eddy, 2011).

Preschoolers and younger school-aged children whose mothers have a his-

tory of incarceration are also more likely than their peers whose mothers do

not have this history to live in environments characterized by material hard-

ship and residential instability (Geller, Garfinkel, Cooper, & Mincy, 2009;

Poehlmann, 2005a). When compared with the children of incarcerated

fathers, this group has a larger number of ecological risks in their lives

(Johnson & Waldfogel, 2004) and is more likely to witness their parents’

illegal activity, arrest, or sentencing (Dallaire & Wilson, 2009). Aspects of

the environment can also support positive development. Staying with one

caregiver for an extended period and less risk in the home environment are

associated with better intellectual and attachment outcomes in this group

(Poehlmann, 2005a, 2005b).

Children of incarcerated mothers are most often cared for by a grandpar-

ent, followed by the father, another relative, friend of the mother, or a foster