The Effects of Parental Imprisonment on Children

The number of children experiencing parental imprisonment is increasing in Western industrialized countries. Parental imprisonment is a risk factor for child antisocial behavior, offending, mental health problems, drug abuse, school failure, and unemployment. However, very little is known about whether parental imprisonment causes these problems. Parental imprisonment might cause adverse child outcomes because of the trauma of parent-child separation, stigma, or social and economic strain. Children may have worse reactions to parental imprisonment if their mother is imprisoned or if parents are imprisoned for longer periods of time or in more punitive social contexts. Children should be protected from harmful effects of parental imprisonment by using family-friendly prison practices, financial assistance, parenting programs, and sentences that are less stigmatizing for offenders and their families. Children of prisoners have been called the “forgotten victims” of crime (Matthews 1983), the “orphans of justice” (Shaw 1992a), the “hidden victims of imprisonment” (Cunningham and Baker 2003), “the Cinderella of penology” (Shaw 1987, p. 3), and the “unseen victims of the prison boom” (Petersilia 2005, p. 34). Given the strong evidence that crime runs in families (Farrington, Barnes, and Lambert 1996; Farrington et al. 2001), the long interest in “broken homes” and crime (Bowlby 1946; McCord, McCord, and Thurber 1962; Juby and Farrington 2001), and the large increase in rates of imprisonment in WestJoseph Murray is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Criminology and research fellow, Darwin College, University of Cambridge. David P. Farrington is professor of psychological criminology at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge. We thank Terrie Moffitt, Friedrich Lösel, Christopher Wildeman, Martin Killias, Christopher Mumola, Marc Mauer, Holly Foster, and Michael Tonry for helpful comments, and Henara Costa for help producing the essay. 134 Joseph Murray and David P. Farrington ern industrialized countries, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom (Walmsley 2005), it is surprising that researchers and policy makers have largely neglected to consider the effects of parental imprisonment on children. As Shaw (1987) pointed out over 20 years ago, if we do not attend to the effects of imprisonment on children, we run the risk of punishing innocent victims, neglecting a seriously at-risk group, and possibly causing crime in the next generation. Tonry and Petersilia (1999) argued that there are six kinds of collateral effects of imprisonment that should be studied: effects on prisoners while confined in prison, effects on prisoners’ relationships and employment after release, effects on their physical and mental health, effects on exprisoners’ criminal behavior, effects on prisoners’ spouses or partners and their children, and effects of imprisonment on the larger community. Although only the first kind of collateral effect has a sizable literature, research is emerging on the collateral effects of imprisonment on employment (Fagan and Freeman 1999; Western, Kling, and Weiman 2001; Western 2002) and on the social fabric of communities (Clear, Rose, and Ryder 2001; Rose and Clear 2003; Lynch and Sabol 2004; Clear 2007). In some cases, research on the effects of imprisonment on prisoners has led to policy change. For example, awareness of increasing suicide rates in prisons generated large-scale research projects on this topic and implementation of improved suicide prevention strategies (Liebling 1999). The effects of imprisonment on children deserve similar research attention and largescale programs to support this vulnerable population. In volume 26 of Crime and Justice, Hagan and Dinovitzer (1999) reviewed theories about why imprisonment might harm families and communities and summarized some of the empirical research on these topics. They argued that the effects of parental imprisonment on children “may be the least understood and most consequential implication of the high reliance on incarceration in America” (Hagan and Dinovitzer 1999, p. 122). This essay builds upon their work by thoroughly evaluating the empirical evidence on the effects of parental imprisonment on children. In this essay, we investigate four key questions: Is parental imprisonment associated with adverse outcomes for children? Does parental imprisonment cause adverse outcomes for children? Why might parental imprisonment cause adverse outcomes for children? Why do some children have poor outcomes following parental imprisonment while others do not? Effects of Parental Imprisonment on Children 135 Unfortunately, there is little high-quality evidence on these topics, reflecting a lack of academic and public interest in the plight of prisoners’ children (by contrast, see the extensive research on children of divorce; Amato and Keith 1991; Rodgers and Pryor 1998; Emery 1999). Where possible, we review evidence from large-scale longitudinal surveys. To provide further evidence of this type we present new results from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. Where large-scale surveys are lacking, we review results from smaller-scale exploratory studies of prisoners’ children and propose hypotheses that should be tested in future research. We conclude that parental imprisonment is a strong risk factor (and possible cause) for a range of adverse outcomes for children, including antisocial behavior, offending, mental health problems, drug abuse, school failure, and unemployment. Parental imprisonment might cause these outcomes through several processes: the trauma of parent-child separation, children being made aware of their parent’s criminality, family poverty caused by the imprisonment, strained parenting by remaining caregivers, stigma, and stresses involved in maintaining contact with the imprisoned parent. However, there is little empirical evidence on the importance of these mechanisms. Children may be more affected by parental imprisonment if their mother is imprisoned, if parents are imprisoned more frequently or for longer periods of time, and if parents are imprisoned in more punitive conditions. Children may be protected from harmful effects of parental imprisonment by having stable caregiving arrangements, by their families receiving social and economic support, and by living in places with more sympathetic public attitudes toward crime and punishment. Programs that might prevent adverse outcomes for children of prisoners include provision of financial assistance, social support, parenting programs, improved prison visiting procedures, and alternative forms of punishment such as community service and day fines. Large-scale research projects are needed to advance knowledge about the effects of parental imprisonment on children. This essay is organized as follows: Section I defines key terms; estimates the number of children with imprisoned parents in the United States, England, and Wales; and describes criteria for inclusion of studies in this review. Sections II, III, and IV examine the associations between parental imprisonment and child antisocial behavior, mental health problems, and other adverse outcomes, respectively. Section V 136 Joseph Murray and David P. Farrington examines whether parental imprisonment is a cause of adverse outcomes for children, and Section VI examines theories about why parental imprisonment might cause adverse outcomes for children. Section VII examines moderating factors that might influence the relationship between parental imprisonment and child outcomes. Section VIII offers policy and research recommendations.