Agency & Identity Negotiations of “Good DNA” by Children with Incarcerated Parents Amidst Stigmatizing Mental Health Structures: A Culture-Centered Analysis

ABSTRACT

Children with incarcerated parents (CIP) face higher burdens of mental illness owing to an accumulation of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) marked by racialized and classed stigma. Utilizing instruments co-created by our CIP advisory board youth within a broader Youth Voice project, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 30 CIP, forming the primary data set for analysis within the present manuscript, in addition to two advisory board focus groups and 21 questionnaires. Drawing upon the culture-centered approach (CCA), this study explores CIP’s articulations of agency and positive identification, including narratives of strength, survival, and “good DNA” in making meaning of mental health experiences. Demonstrating a complex interplay of silence and voice, CIP agentically reframe mainstream narratives about problematic behavior as overt responses to inadequate structural support, challenge notions of the absent incarcerated parent, engage in the praxis of retailoring state mental health resources to align with their lived experiences and participate as active content creators and storytellers within community media spaces.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Kremer et al. (2020) in a sample analysis of 1088 CIP found that a majority, 61%, were well-adjusted with low behavioral problems and positive school outcomes. Youth at highest risk for delinquency represented only 7% of the sample.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy Community Engagement Grant.