Paternal Incarceration, Race and Ethnicity, and Maternal Health

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Health
• Social Determinants of Health
• Genetics and Epigenetics

Background:

• Paternal incarceration's impact on maternal health is understudied, particularly physiological mechanisms.
• Racial and ethnic disparities exist in incarceration exposure and resource access.
• Few studies analyze these issues using within-group racial/ethnic frameworks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between paternal incarceration and telomere length in mothers of different racial/ethnic backgrounds.
• To investigate potential mediating factors in the paternal incarceration-telomere length association.
• To address gaps in understanding the physiological consequences of family incarceration.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study.
• Analyzed a longitudinal sample of 2174 mothers followed from pregnancy to child age 9.
• Employed a within-race/ethnicity analytic framework.

Main Results:

• Paternal incarceration was negatively associated with telomere length in Black mothers.
• No significant association was found between paternal incarceration and telomere length for Latina/o and White mothers.
• Secondary stressors (economic instability, mental health, parenting stress) did not mediate the relationship.

Conclusions:

• The physiological impact of paternal incarceration on maternal health is race/ethnicity-dependent.
• Findings underscore the need to consider racial context in understanding incarceration's health effects.
• Results inform health scholars and criminal justice stakeholders on paternal incarceration's maternal health consequences.