Young Children's Contact with their Parents in Jail and Child Behavior Problems

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Criminology
• Family Studies

Background:

• Maintaining family relationships is crucial for incarcerated parents and their children.
• The impact of parent-child contact on behavior problems in young children is understudied, particularly the context of contact.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between parent-child contact and behavior problems in young children (ages 2-6).
• To investigate how different jail environments and contact methods (visits, phone calls) influence this association.

Main Methods:

• Data collected from 157 incarcerated parents regarding contact with children aged 2-6.
• Assessed children's behavior problems and analyzed the moderating role of jail site on contact-behavior links.

Main Results:

• Jail site significantly moderated the relationship between visit frequency and child behavior problems.
• More frequent visits were linked to fewer externalizing problems in a jail with video and Plexiglas options (no strict security).
• In contrast, more frequent visits were linked to more externalizing problems in a jail with primarily Plexiglas visits.
• Increased phone calls correlated with increased child externalizing behavior problems.

Conclusions:

• The context and type of parent-child contact during parental incarceration significantly influence child behavior.
• Jail policies and visit environments (e.g., video vs. Plexiglas, security measures) are critical factors.
• Findings suggest a need for policy and practice adjustments to optimize beneficial parent-child contact for incarcerated families.