Children of Incarcerated Parents

Effects on Children of Incarcerated Fathers Most of the prisons in America are overcrowded. They are overcrowded with men, most of which are fathers and nearly half of these incarcerated fathers were living with their child or children before going to prison. The effects on these children can be detrimental. This can also cause strained relationships with the mothers or other family members doing their best to take care of these children while their father is away. There can be social as well as emotional problems, but luckily there are many states that are trying to accommodate for the parent being gone with programs and camps for these children. Many social issues occur with a child of an incarcerated father as they grow older. It is common knowledge that if a parent or any caregiver disappears from a child’s life, that child’s attachment to that person will diminish. It is hard to establish a child’s trust and takes time, so if a parent disappears that the child has depended on, it can affect the future of the child. He/she may grow up thinking they cannot get too close to someone, fearing they’ll lose that person. A lot of behavioral problems can also occur in a child. This may happen at home, in school, or in the streets. “Absence of the father is associated more with ‘acting out’ behavior (such as hostility, use of drugs or alcohol, running away, school truancy, discipline problems, aggressive acts and involvement in delinquent activities (Rosenburg 2009).” Being antisocial is looked at as a list of multiple behaviors that disrupt normalcy. As the child of an incarcerated parent grows to be an adolescent, there may be even more social problems. Now the child is growing up and can get into more trouble for their social deviance. When it comes to getting in trouble, they may use excuses to cause them to get into more trouble. After all, what excuse is better than, “My dad did it?”
It is very sad when kids are isolated socially from their peers because of

References: Christian, S. (2009, March). Children of incarcerated parents. Retrieved January 30, 2013, from http://www.ncsl.org/documents/cyf/childrenofincarceratedparents.pdf Hairston, C. F. (2007, October). Focus on children with incarcerated parents. Retrieved from http://www.fcnetwork.org/AECFOverview%20of%20the%20Research%20Literature.pdf Shlafer, R. J., & Rosenburg, J. (2010). Attachment and caregiving relationships in families affected by parental incarceration. Attachment & Human Development, 12(4), 395-415. doi:10.1080/14616730903417052