Literature Review Millions of young children in the United States have a parent or parents who are incarcerated or have been incarcerated for the better half of their lives. In fact, research shows that the number of children with parents in prison has doubled, making them one of the most at-risk populations in the United States (Miller, 2006). Having an incarcerated parent or parents could have many negative impacts on the child’s social and mental health. Researchers hypothesize that exposure to neighborhoods with a high crime rate, poverty, and/or violence is more significant among children with incarcerated parents (Gabel & Shindledecker, 1993). I believe that the incarceration of a parent ultimately leads to, and could be instrumental
…show more content…
Even though those two factors could fall under mental effects, the source of these two things roots from the home environment. There are many times where the primary provider in the family is arrested. This could lead to a serious economic strain put upon the remaining members of the family. After the removal of a parent from the home, especially if that particular parent was the sole bread winner and the provider of financial support, there is pressure on the remaining parent to fill in that position (Hagan & Dinovitzer, 1999). Families that are already poor are pushed into a hopeless financial crisis. 59% of the inmates were full time employees during the time of their arrest. Subsequently, most of them had a stable income and following their arrest this income is gone. For this reason, the remaining parent might have less money as well as time to invest on the kids (Hagan & Dinovitzer, …show more content…
The process a child may go through varies in length, but usually most children never truly get over this terrible occurence This might cause very emotional reactions in the body of the kid that might lead to a subsequent stressful life (Hogan & Dinovitzer, 1999). Some children are also so afraid that they might be labeled by their friends and other family members as outcasts since they have an imprisoned parent (Hogan & Dinovitzer,
Even though those two factors could fall under mental effects, the source of these two things roots from the home environment. There are many times where the primary provider in the family is arrested. This could lead to a serious economic strain put upon the remaining members of the family. After the removal of a parent from the home, especially if that particular parent was the sole bread winner and the provider of financial support, there is pressure on the remaining parent to fill in that position (Hagan & Dinovitzer, 1999). Families that are already poor are pushed into a hopeless financial crisis. 59% of the inmates were full time employees during the time of their arrest. Subsequently, most of them had a stable income and following their arrest this income is gone. For this reason, the remaining parent might have less money as well as time to invest on the kids (Hagan & Dinovitzer, …show more content…
The process a child may go through varies in length, but usually most children never truly get over this terrible occurence This might cause very emotional reactions in the body of the kid that might lead to a subsequent stressful life (Hogan & Dinovitzer, 1999). Some children are also so afraid that they might be labeled by their friends and other family members as outcasts since they have an imprisoned parent (Hogan & Dinovitzer,