Against the Odds: A Structural Equation Analysis of Family Resilience Processes during Paternal Incarceration

Amy A. Morgan, Joyce A. Arditti, Susan Dennison and Signe Frederiksen
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Amy A. Morgan: Department of Family Science, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Joyce A. Arditti: Department of Human Development and Family Science, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Susan Dennison: School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD 4111, Australia
Signe Frederiksen: Children and Education Department, VIVE Danish Center for Social Science Research, 1052 Copenhagen, Denmark

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-21

Abstract: On any given day, approximately 2.1 million children in Europe have an incarcerated parent. Although research indicates that material hardship is associated with parental incarceration, and particularly paternal incarceration, little is known about family processes that may mitigate the harmful effects of such hardship on children with an incarcerated parent. Guided by a resilience framework, this study examined how family processes mediate the effects of material hardship on youth academic adjustment within the context of paternal incarceration. Using Danish data that assessed key family constructs, structural equation modeling was used to perform a mediational within-group analysis of primary caregivers (n = 727) to children with an incarcerated father. Results indicate that although social support and parenting skills did not yield mediating effects, caregiver mental health strongly mediated the effects of material hardship on youth academic adjustment during paternal incarceration. Findings suggest that economic conditions, as well as caregiver mental health symptoms, are important areas of intervention that may promote family-level resilience for youth of an imprisoned father. We conclude with research and practice recommendations to advance our understanding of resilience among families with an incarcerated parent.

Keywords: parental incarceration; paternal incarceration; family processes; family resilience; structural equation modeling; mass incarceration; Danish families (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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