Abounding Needs: Children of Incarcerated Parents

Incarceration has become a norm in our society. Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that prison population exceeded a record-breaking 2 million last year. Considering higher rates of incarceration, we can easily deduce that more parents are incarcerated now than ever before. The children of these parents are undoubtedly affected. Sadly, these children are often considered a collective group with a particular set of needs-- that is, basic needs like food, clothing and shelter (Johnson and Waldfogel, 2002). However, each child of an incarcerated parent has emotional and psychological needs specific to his/her situation that must be met. Meeting these needs will help ensure positive growth and development.

Many factors must be considered when assessing the behaviors of children with incarcerated parents. Was the child exposed to parental criminality prior to the parent's incarceration? Did the child exhibit emotional instability or have behavior problems before the parent's incarceration? In Doing Time on the Outside, Braman argues that "[Children] made fatherless by incarceration are not only more likely to be abused, to live in poverty, and to burden their extended family but also more likely to be involved in the criminal justice system themselves, contributing to a cycle of abuse and neglect across generations (p 93)." Having an antisocial or incarcerated parent was one of the strongest predictors of violent or serious delinquency in adolescence and young adulthood (Eddy and Reid, 2001)." Children with incarcerated parents often exhibit behaviors that stem from feelings of anger, anxiety or fear, to name a few. Socioeconomic status, parent education, sexual abuse, substance abuse and physical abuse are a few of the many factors that affect how children cope with parental incarceration.