Occasional Series on Prison Reentry: The Growth of Incarceration in the United

States

Children of the Prison Boom: Mass Incarceration and Childhood Wellbeing

Sara Wakefield

School of Criminal JusticeRutgers University

sara.wakefield@rutgers.edu

Acknowledgements and More Information

Frequent Collaborator: Chris Wildeman (Cornell)

Also see the work of Kristin Turney (UC-Irvine)

Annotated Bibliography of Additional Research: www.johnjayresearch.org/

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Plan of talk

① Linking Mass Incarceration and Childhood Wellbeing

② Individual-Level Effects of Parental Incarceration on Children

③ Implications for Social Inequality and Long-Term Harm

④ Undoing the Damage

1. Mass IncarcerationLinking Mass Incarceration and Children

What is mass incarceration?

Historically novel, comparatively extreme.

Common life experience for the urban poor.

Resulting in the “systematic incarceration of whole groups.”

19251927

19291931

19331935

19371939

19411943

19451947

19491951

19531955

19571959

19611963

19651967

19691971

19731975

19771979

19811983

19851987

19891991

19931995

19971999

20012003

2005 -

100

200

300

400

500

600

U.S. Incarceration Rate 1925-1974

19251927

19291931

19331935

19371939

19411943

19451947

19491951

19531955

19571959

19611963

19651967

19691971

19731975

19771979

19811983

19851987

19891991

19931995

19971999

20012003

2005 -

100

200

300

400

500

600

U.S. Incarceration Rate 1925-2005

International Comparison of Incarceration Rates

Risk of imprisonment by age 30-34: Men born 1945-49, 1970-74

White

Black

White

Black

All

Men

HS

Dro

pout

s

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

1.2

9

4.2

14.7

2.8

22.8

14.8

62.5

1970-74 1945-49

1980 1990 2000 20080.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

10.00%

12.00%

2.60%

6.60%

10.10%

11.40%

1.30%

3.20%3.70% 3.50%

0.40%0.90%

1.40%1.80%

Percentage of Children with an Incarcerated Parent

Black Hispanic White

Source: Western & Pettit, 2009

2. Parental Incarceration EffectsMental Health and Behavioral Problems, Homelessness, Infant Mortality, and Caregiver-Child Relationships

Summary of Findings

For Fathers: Global and consequential Nearly always in the direction of harm for non-violent

fathers

For Mothers Variable and less consistent As often protective as harmful?

Larger Implications The Concentration of Incarceration in Families Social Inequality and Race Gaps in Childhood Wellbeing

Focal Outcomes

Mental Health and Behavioral Problems: All children experience some of them, and they predict everything from dropout to teen pregnancy to crime

Homelessness: Good insight into most marginalized children, and massive increases in black-white gaps since 1980.

Infant Mortality: Considered the best measure of child health, and black-white inequalities have stubbornly held steady.

Caregiver-Child Relationship: Possible important mechanism

Internalizing Externalizing Total0.00%

1.00%

2.00%

3.00%

4.00%

5.00%

6.00%

7.00%

Mental Health and Behavioral Problems

Aggression, Infant Mortality, and Childhood Homelessness

Aggression Infant Mortality Homelessness (Black Children)0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

Emoti

onal

/Ver

bal R

espo

nsiv

ity

Emoti

onal

Clim

ate

Posi

tive

Confl

ict

Reso

lutio

n

Neg

ative

Con

flict

, Non

-Phy

sica

l

Neg

ative

Con

flict

, Phy

sica

l

Positive Parenting Behaviors Negative Parenting Behaviors

-0.2

-0.1

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

***

Positive and Negative Parenting Behaviors and Conflict Resolution

Physically Aggressive Behaviors by Crime Type and Abuse History

Infant Mortality

Summary of Individual-Level Findings

Paternal incarceration increases: Behavioral problems Physically aggressive behaviors Homelessness Infant mortality Risk of conflict, abuse, and neglect by caregivers

Effects usually absent in cases of a violent father or a history of domestic abuse in the family

The incarceration of a non-violent father is a global harm for children

3. Aggregating Up HarmsThe Concentration of Incarceration in Families and Social Inequality

Zero

One

Two

Three or More

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Black Children White Children

Race Differences in the Concentration of Incarceration in Families

Tota

l Beh

avio

r Pro

blem

sIn

tern

aliz

ing

Prob

lem

s

0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5

5%

14%

25%

10%

26%

46%

1990 Levels of Incarceration (Vs. Zero Incarceration) 1978 Levels of Incarceration (Vs. Zero Incarceration)

The Contribution of Paternal Incarceration for Racial Inequality in Childhood Wellbeing

Infant Mortality

Homelessness

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7

7%

38%

13%

65%

1990 Levels of Incarceration (Vs. Zero Incarceration) 1978 Levels of Incarceration (Vs. No Incarceration)

The Contribution of Paternal Incarceration for Racial Inequality in Childhood Wellbeing

4. Undoing the DamageSummary and Unanswered Questions

The usual suspects

When we think about the forces that shape wellbeing among American children, we tend to think mostly about things like neighborhoods, schools, and families.

The penal system ought to be added to the list.

Undoing the Damage

Interventions best found outside of the criminal justice system Enhancing social safety net Strengthening interventions in the poorest

neighborhoods to reduce the damaging effects of crime and incarceration

*Smart* reductions in the incarceration rate For children with currently incarcerated parents To reduce the likelihood of the experience for

children at risk for parental incarceration

Thanks for your time!

Questions?

Additional Source Material

Wakefield, Sara. 2014. “Accentuating the Positive or Eliminating the Negative? Father Incarceration and Caregiver-Child Relationship Quality.” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 104, 4.

Wakefield, Sara, and Christopher Wildeman. 2011. Mass Imprisonment and Racial Disparities in Childhood Behavioral Problems. Criminology & Public Policy 10:793-817.

Wakefield, Sara and Christopher Wildeman. 2013. Children of the Prison Boom: Mass Incarceration and the Future of American Inequality. New York: Oxford University Press.

Wakefield, Sara and Christopher Uggen. 2010. “Incarceration and Stratification.” Annual Review of Sociology 36: 387-406.

Isolating Incarceration Effects

Prior Disadvantage Future Disadvantage

Incarceration