Paternal Incarceration and Parenting Programs in Prison: A Review Paper

Abstract

Research resoundingly confirms that the incarceration of a parent has devastating effects on children. Children of inmate parents are considered to be six times more likely to become involved in the adult criminal justice system, compared to other children. Typically, men who are incarcerated have had marginalised upbringing themselves and lacked good parental role models. As such, their ability to parent their own children later in life in a positive way is severely limited. Parenting programs in prison are gaining increasing popularity as a means for addressing this social problem, in the hope of reducing intergenerational offending. This article provides a thorough review of the available literature on paternal incarceration and also sets out the range of factors that contribute to the success of a prison-based parenting program.

Key words:

• effects of imprisonment
• paternal incarceration
• parenting programs

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to acknowledge research assistant Tess Bartlett who located relevant literature and assisted with some collation of findings. Also, Professor Tony Ward for his editing of this paper.

Notes

1. Other research suggests a lesser rate: that 50% of youths in the correctional system have a parent in the adult criminal justice system (Mumola, 2000 as cited in Miller, 2006).