Interventions for women prisoners and their children in the post-release period

Abstract

Women offenders and their children represent a severely disadvantaged and marginalised population. For many children, the very risk factors that contributed to their own mother's incarceration are present in their current lives, creating an intergenerational vulnerability for poor outcomes. Providing an intensive individualised parenting intervention in the post-release period may help improve family functioning. The aim of the present study was to ascertain the feasibility and short-term effectiveness of delivering an intensive multifaceted parenting program, Parents Under Pressure (PUP), to women offenders after release or in low-security confinement where they were living with their children. Twelve women commenced the program and eight completed treatment. Treatment completion was associated with significant positive change, in particular an improvement in maternal mental health and the quality of the parent–child relationship, with reductions found in child abuse potential and problem child behaviours. The present results highlight the potential benefits of delivering intensive multifaceted parenting interventions, such as PUP, to women who have been involved in the criminal justice system.

Keywords:

• Children
• female offender
• mothers
• parenting
• prison