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Book part
Publication date: 3 September 2015

Xing Zhang and Allison Dwyer Emory

We descriptively examined measures of family structure, socioeconomic disadvantage, and exposure to crime, violence, and substance use in young adulthood and childhood for those…

Abstract

Purpose

We descriptively examined measures of family structure, socioeconomic disadvantage, and exposure to crime, violence, and substance use in young adulthood and childhood for those who experienced maternal incarceration as children.

Methodology/Approach

We used data from waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. We compared these individuals to two groups: those who did not experience maternal incarceration and those who experienced paternal incarceration. We generated weighted means and conducted F-tests using bivariate regressions to determine where these groups significantly differed.

Findings

We found that individuals whose mothers were incarcerated during their childhoods experienced greater hardships in both childhood and young adulthood than those whose mothers were not incarcerated. Individuals who experienced maternal incarceration reported similar levels of socioeconomic disadvantage and exposure to crime and violence as those who experienced paternal incarceration. One notable exception was family structure, where maternal incarceration was associated with significantly fewer respondents reporting living with their mother or either biological parent.

Social Implications

With the exception of family structure, the childhood and transition to adulthood were comparable for individuals experiencing any form of parental incarceration. These children were significantly more disadvantaged and exposed to more risk factors than those whose parents were never incarcerated. Additional support and resources are necessary for families who have incarcerated parents, with special outreach made to families without a biological mother in the household.

Originality/Value of Paper

There has been no overarching, descriptive study comparing child and young adult outcomes of those with an incarcerated mother using a nationally representative, longitudinal dataset in the United States.

Details

Violence and Crime in the Family: Patterns, Causes, and Consequences
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-262-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 March 2019

Muhammad Mustofa, Brooke S. West, Mamik Sri Supadmi and Herlina Sari

The purpose of this paper is to present the characteristics of incarcerated women in two prisons in Java, Indonesia and discuss the specific problems and needs incarcerated women…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the characteristics of incarcerated women in two prisons in Java, Indonesia and discuss the specific problems and needs incarcerated women with children face with regard to mothering.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional survey using a semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 399 incarcerated women in two prisons. Focus group discussions provided additional information on mother’s experiences in prison.

Findings

This research finds that children’s welfare was an important concern for mothers while in prison and that they faced various problems in maintaining family ties during their incarceration, including distance, costs and time for family to visit (49.3 percent), and challenges to being able to communicate with family and children (26.6 percent).

Originality/value

This study contributes to the limited research on incarcerated women in Indonesia, broadly, and on mothering and incarceration, in particular, and suggests that women’s needs as mothers have not been taken into consideration by prisons and the criminal justice system.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 25 May 2017

Chenelle A. Jones and Renita L. Seabrook

This chapter examines how the intersection of race, class, and gender impact the experiences of Black women and their children within a broader socio-historical context.

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter examines how the intersection of race, class, and gender impact the experiences of Black women and their children within a broader socio-historical context.

Methodology/approach

The epistemological framework of feminist criminology and the invisibility of Black women are used to draw an analysis on the American dominant ideology and culture that perpetuates the racial subjugation of Black women and the challenges they have faced throughout history as it relates to the mother-child dynamic and the ideals of Black motherhood.

Findings

By conceptually examining the antebellum, eugenics, and mass incarceration eras, our analysis demonstrated how the racial subjugation of Black women perpetuated the parental separation and the ability for Black women to mother their children and that these collective efforts, referred to as the New Jane Crow, disrupt the social synthesis of the black community and further emphasizes the need for more efforts to preserve the mother/child relationship.

Originality/value

Based on existing literature, there is a paucity of research studies that examine the effects of maternal incarceration and the impact it has on their children. As a part of a continuous project we intend to further the discourse and examine how race and gender intersect to impact the experiences of incarcerated Black women and their children through a socio-historical context.

Details

Race, Ethnicity and Law
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-604-4

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 October 2022

Robyn E. Metcalfe, Claudia Reino, Arriell Jackson, Jean M. Kjellstrand and J. Mark Eddy

Over 2 million individuals are incarcerated in the US criminal justice system. More than half of incarcerated Americans are also parents of minors. Parental incarceration can lead…

Abstract

Over 2 million individuals are incarcerated in the US criminal justice system. More than half of incarcerated Americans are also parents of minors. Parental incarceration can lead to a higher risk of mental illness and enduring trauma in children, as well as other problematic cognitive, developmental, and educational outcomes. Examining parental incarceration through a racial equity lens is critical, as people of color make up 67% of the incarcerated population despite making up only 37% of the US population. Further, gender-related equity issues pose important challenges for families with incarcerated parents. Here, we discuss prison-based psychosocial interventions designed both to build parenting skills and to improve parent well-being within a racial and gender equity lens. We hypothesize that effective services in these areas are essential components in a broad strategy designed to mitigate the potential negative effects suffered by families and children of incarcerated parents of color as a result of their imprisonment.

Details

The Justice System and the Family: Police, Courts, and Incarceration
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-360-7

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Ethnographies of Law and Social Control
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-128-6

Article
Publication date: 6 February 2017

Kristen N. Sobba, Brenda Prochaska and Emily Berthelot

Several studies have reported the impact of paternal incarceration and criminal behavior on childhood delinquency; however, fewer studies have addressed the influence of maternal…

Abstract

Purpose

Several studies have reported the impact of paternal incarceration and criminal behavior on childhood delinquency; however, fewer studies have addressed the influence of maternal criminality on children’s behavioral outcomes. Integrating self-control and attachment theoretical frameworks, the purpose of this paper is to address the impact of mothers who have been stopped, arrested, convicted, and incarcerated in relation to their children’s delinquent behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing data set was used to better understand this relationship. By using binary logistic regression, two types of delinquent behavior were assessed: destroying property and fighting.

Findings

The results revealed that mothers’ criminal behavior affected children’s fighting tendencies but did not significantly impact children’s tendency to destroy property. Furthermore, certain childhood antisocial traits and demographic characteristics revealed to also impact children’s delinquent behavior. From the results, implications and prevention strategies were drawn describing techniques to combat delinquency.

Originality/value

This research lays a foundation for future researchers to explore mother-child attachment and the transmission of low self-control from mother to child in relation to criminality. The current research is one of the first studies to specifically address how maternal criminal behavior affects their children’s tendency to engage in delinquency, specifically examining property destruction and fighting.

Details

Journal of Criminal Psychology, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2009-3829

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 November 2016

Rosalyn D. Lee, Xiangming Fang and Feijun Luo

Research suggests social exclusion is linked to violence. To expand what is known about risk factors for violence, this study investigates links between having a parent with a…

Abstract

Research suggests social exclusion is linked to violence. To expand what is known about risk factors for violence, this study investigates links between having a parent with a history of incarceration and experiencing social exclusion. Data from waves 1 and 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used to conduct regression analyses to assess associations between parental incarceration and social exclusion adjusting for child, parent, and family factors. Results indicate that compared to individuals whose parents had never been incarcerated, those who reported a parent had been incarcerated were at greater risk of experiencing material exclusion, incarceration, and multiple forms of exclusion. When assessing differences by parent gender, results indicate that those who reported their mother had been incarcerated compared to those who reported their father had been incarcerated had higher risk of being incarcerated themselves and experiencing multiple forms of exclusion. Since research suggests social exclusion increases violence risk, studies are needed (1) to identify mechanisms linking parental incarceration to offspring social exclusion and (2) to increase understanding around differential impact by parent gender. Such studies can inform development of interventions to promote better outcomes in this vulnerable sub-population of children.

Details

Inequality after the 20th Century: Papers from the Sixth ECINEQ Meeting
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-993-0

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 May 2023

Sarah K. O’Connor, Rachna Vanjani, Rachel Cannon, Mary Beth Dawson and Rebecca Perkins

The US prison population has recently reached an all-time high, with women representing the fastest growing subpopulation. Correctional health-care system in the USA remains…

Abstract

Purpose

The US prison population has recently reached an all-time high, with women representing the fastest growing subpopulation. Correctional health-care system in the USA remains fragmented and nonuniform in practice, particularly in women’s health care, with poor transitions between incarceration and release. This study aims to examine the qualitative health-care experiences of women while incarcerated and their transition into the community health-care setting. Additionally, this study also examined the experiences of a subset of women who were pregnant while incarcerated.

Design/methodology/approach

After obtaining institutional review board approval, adult, English-speaking women with a history of incarceration within the past 10 years were interviewed using a semi-structured interview tool. Interview transcripts were analyzed using inductive content analysis.

Findings

The authors completed 21 full interviews and identified six themes that were both the most significant and most novel: “feeling stigmatized and insignificant,” “care as punishment,” “delay in care,” “exceptions to the rule,” “fragmentation of care” and “obstetric trauma and resilience.”

Originality/value

Women face numerous barriers and hardships when accessing basic and reproductive health-care services while incarcerated. This hardship is particularly challenging for women with substance use disorders. The authors were able to describe for the first time, partially through their own words, novel challenges described by women interacting with incarceration health care. Community providers should understand these barriers and challenges so as to effectively reengage women in care upon release and improve the health-care status of this historically marginalized group.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 December 2018

Jocelyn Jones, Mandy Wilson, Elizabeth Sullivan, Lynn Atkinson, Marisa Gilles, Paul L. Simpson, Eileen Baldry and Tony Butler

The rise in the incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers is a major public health issue with multiple sequelae for Aboriginal children and the cohesiveness…

1194

Abstract

Purpose

The rise in the incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers is a major public health issue with multiple sequelae for Aboriginal children and the cohesiveness of Aboriginal communities. The purpose of this paper is to review the available literature relating to Australian Aboriginal women prisoners’ experiences of being a mother.

Design/methodology/approach

The literature search covered bibliographic databases from criminology, sociology and anthropology, and Australian history. The authors review the literature on: traditional and contemporary Aboriginal mothering roles, values and practices; historical accounts of the impacts of white settlement of Australia and subsequent Aboriginal affairs policies and practices; and women’s and mothers’ experiences of imprisonment.

Findings

The review found that the cultural experiences of mothering are unique to Aboriginal mothers and contrasted to non-Aboriginal concepts. The ways that incarceration of Aboriginal mothers disrupts child rearing practices within the cultural kinship system are identified.

Practical implications

Aboriginal women have unique circumstances relevant to the concept of motherhood that need to be understood to develop culturally relevant policy and programs. The burden of disease and cycle of incarceration within Aboriginal families can be addressed by improving health outcomes for incarcerated Aboriginal mothers and female carers.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first literature review on Australian Aboriginal women prisoners’ experiences of being a mother.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 14 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 September 2020

Helen Codd

In recent years, academics, policymakers and activists in a number of countries have become increasingly concerned with the needs and experiences of imprisoned mothers and their…

Abstract

In recent years, academics, policymakers and activists in a number of countries have become increasingly concerned with the needs and experiences of imprisoned mothers and their children. With a few exceptions, this research has tended to focus on single jurisdictions or on limited jurisdictional comparisons. Several common themes emerge when considering international perspectives on mothering and imprisonment, but political, social, cultural, economic and penological factors mean that these issues can play out differently in different settings. Thus, in the United Kingdom and the United States, much of the debate is around keeping mothers and babies together, whereas in many other countries the focus is on the desirability of developing realistic and practical alternatives to children growing up in the prison with their mother. International organisations such as the UNCRC have considered the particular needs of children imprisoned with their mothers and also the challenges of ‘mothering from the inside’. That said, this research has tended to focus on narrow biological and gestational definitions of motherhood which may not reflect contemporary realities. With this in mind, this chapter will outline and explore international perspectives on mothering and imprisonment, identifying key issues of commonality and difference and situating these perspectives within emerging research on imprisonment, diversity and mothering.

Details

Mothering from the Inside
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78973-344-0

Keywords

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