Jailed Parents and Their Young Children: Residential Instability, Homelessness, and Behavior Problems

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Criminology

Background:

• Family disruption, specifically parental incarceration, significantly impacts children.
• Housing instability and homelessness are prevalent issues among incarcerated individuals.
• The Family Stress Proximal Process Model provides a framework for understanding these impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between jailed parents' housing instability before incarceration and their young children's behavior problems.
• To explore the prevalence of housing instability and homelessness among jailed parents with young children.
• To investigate the association between parental housing instability and children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from interviews and surveys with 165 jailed parents (fathers and mothers) of young children (ages 2-6).
• Assessed parental housing instability, including homelessness with/without children, in the 12 months preceding incarceration.
• Employed multiple regression analyses to link parental housing instability to child behavior problems.

Main Results:

• Housing instability, homelessness, and recidivism were common among jailed parents.
• A significant portion of housing instability occurred with young children present, though parental absence was also noted.
• Greater parental housing instability in the year before jail was associated with increased internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in children.

Conclusions:

• Parental housing instability before incarceration is a significant risk factor for child behavior problems.
• Findings highlight the need to address housing instability to mitigate negative child outcomes and potentially reduce recidivism.
• Further research should explore family disruption as a mechanism linking parental incarceration to child behavior issues and adult homelessness/recidivism.