Children of Prisoners The Impact of Incarceration


When a government decides to get “tough on crime”, leading to increased penalties for minor offences and increased spending on prisons, is there any thought given to the prevention of crime or the effects on the perpetrator’s children? The following piece, written in a North American context, explores a relatively unexamined topic when discussing the state of the world’s youth: the effect of incarceration on the children of those incarcerated.


by Rachel Urban Shipley D


ebate rages about the most effective way to deal with crime. Opinions differ on whether incarceration is effective at


preventing future crime or whether it increases recidivism rates, and many also argue that incarceration is not an acceptable way of punishing wrong-doers. One aspect of these debates that must be kept in mind is the effects of incarceration on the children of incarcerated people. Children can be affected both practically (for example, financial issues due to the lost income of the parent) and psychologically by the incarceration of a parent. Since children are not responsible for their parent’s crimes it is essential to evaluate harm done to them when considering the effectiveness and morality of incarceration.


Imprisonment has a variety of different effects on the children of offenders. Children of imprisoned parents essentially lose one parent from their life. Given that single-parent homes are often correlated with poverty (although of course many single parents are very successful), this is not good for children.[i]


Contact with


the criminal justice system can have negative effects on children, from the arrest (one study found that 40% of incarcerated parents were arrested in front of their children),[ii]


to the trial (as “uncertainty


about the outcome of the trial means that families cannot plan concretely for their future”)[iii]


, to the incarceration itself.


Incarceration can have significant negative effects on a family’s economic status, since the imprisoned person will be unable to provide much money while in prison (in many cases the family sends them money[iv]


on future job prospects when the jailed person is released.[v]


). Also, a criminal record has negative impacts A


study interviewing families of incarcerated individuals found that “fully two thirds of family members reported they were financially much worse off since the incarceration.”[vi]


Furthermore, incarceration of one parent places stress on the other. Inadequate money is part of this, but additionally the stresses


of caring for a child alone and supporting the incarcerated partner may strain their capacity.[vii]


One This has further negative impacts on


the child’s upbringing, as it means the parent may not be able to provide the child with enough attention and supervision.[viii]


thing that is important to note is that the stigma against convicted criminals is very strong and tends to spread to their family members as well.[ix]


This means that, in a situation where a family


is essentially coping with the loss of a family member, they are bereft of the social support that might otherwise come to them.[x]


A meta-analysis of studies on the effects of parental incarceration found that children of


incarcerated parents were more likely to


exhibit anti-social behaviour, although they were not able to draw strong conclusions on whether drug use and mental health


problems were associated with having an incarcerated parent. [xi]


from criminal behaviour to simply lying) [xii] has several potential causes, one of which is that the stigma


against the child may cause people the child interacts with to expect them to behave in an anti-social fashion, “fostering a self- fulfilling prophecy.”[xiii]


The effects of having an incarcerated parent on children are important not just from an ethical standpoint, but also because they reinforce socioeconomic divides and may have impacts on who is likely to cause crime in the future. Low socioeconomic status is linked with crime rates,[xiv]


and parental incarceration is


linked with poorer economic outcomes. Additionally, minorities are more likely to be incarcerated.[xv]


The negative effects of


parental incarceration mean that this overrepresentation in the justice system is impacting not only those individuals but also their families — and that incarceration will lead to more poverty and perhaps more crime, perpetuating inequality indefinitely.[xvi] Mitigating the negative effects on children in every way possible is necessary for preventing these cycles from continuing.


This increase in anti-social behaviour (which includes a wide variety of behaviours,


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iAM


Youth as... Advocates


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