Pros And Cons Of Incarcerated Parents

Another factor that should be considered in broken families would be children who are raised in homes where they have a parent in prison. It is estimated that 1.7 million youth in the United States have at least one parent currently in prison and that millions more have a parent in jail (ojjdp.gov). Preliminary research suggests that children with incarcerated parents may exhibit a range of academic problems, including poor grades, behavior problems, and school phobias at higher rates than children of non-incarcerated parent (http://aspe.hhs.gov) There are many environment risks that should be considered when raising a child with an incarcerated parent such as a family’s stability and a child’s developmental outcome. As far as a child’s developmental …show more content…
It is said that children growing up in homes where they have criminal parents is one of the strongest predictors in whether or not a child will become juvenile delinquents. Children who experienced parental incarceration at age 6 or younger were more than twice as likely to be involved in the criminal justice system as young adults (http://aspe.hhs.gov) since most children that have an incarcerated parent come from poverty it is an additional causation factor in delinquency (sheldensays.com). Although parent incarceration is a big indicator in a child becoming a delinquent any type of involvement where crime runs in the family whether it’s a brother or sister can be a predictor in juvenile delinquency. The study known as Pittsburgh Youth Study surveyed 1,500 males from 7 years of age until 30. The study showed that arrest of fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts where all predictors in the boy’s delinquency. In …show more content…
For example, compared with teens with lower rates of offending, teens with high rates of offending were more likely to have siblings who also committed delinquent acts at a high rate (ncjrs.gov). It is believed that siblings reinforce these behaviors on their sibling when there is a close relationship between the two. Many children of incarcerated parents live in impoverished households, are exposed to substance abuse, and have witnessed or been victims of family violence prior to the parent’s arrest (http://aspe.hhs.gov). It is suggested that children who come from low income families have higher results of recidivism and perpetuating negative stereotypes based on their social class. Juveniles who come from low income families are more likely to be put through the criminal justice system than other adolescents who may have the financial