CHILDREN OF MALE PRISONERS - THE FREE MOTHER’S PERSPECTIVE

Authors

  • CHRISTIN FAHMY Clinical Psychology Intern, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden, 070-405 83 46
  • ANNE H. BERMAN Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology, Center for Psychiatric Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Box 17070, 104 62 Stockholm, Sweden, +46 704245360

Keywords:

Children of prisoners, mental health effects, resilience, free parent’s perspective, recommendations

Abstract

A parent’s imprisonment has various impacts on the child. The aim of this study was to investigate how free parents perceive that the other parent’s imprisonment has affected mutual children, and which interventions are perceived to improve these children’s situation. In semi-structured interviews, 16 free mothers in Sweden shared how the imprisonment has affected their family and the health of their children, 7-17 years old. The mothers reported the following consequences in the children following the father’s imprisonment: sadness, anxiety, disappointment, guilt, low self-esteem, fear, worries, anger, aggression, crisis, grief, separation anxiety, sleeping problems, bullying and physical reactions. The mothers’ suggested future improvements for meeting the needs of families with children of prisoners included better information and access to sources of support, speaking about the imprisonment openly, financial support and well-organised general support to the family, as well as better treatment options for the prisoner. Suggested improvements for the children in the visiting environment included shorter geographical distance to the incarcerated parent, more frequent and longer visiting hours, ‘child-friendly’ visiting environments, visiting apartments in prisons, furlough permits and general reforms in prison regimes. To enable these improvements and facilitate better life quality for children of prisoners, political measures would need to be enacted.

References

Arditti, J.A., Lambert-Shute, J. and Joest, K. 2003.Saturday Morning at the Jail: Implications of Incarceration for Families and Children.Family Relations - Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 52 (3), 195-20.

Beckles Flores, E.C. 2011.Waiting for your return: A phenomenological study on parental deportation and the impact on the family and the parent child attachment bond. Marriage and Family Therapy - Dissertations. Paper 42.

Bocknek, E., Sanderson, J. and Britner, P. 2009.Ambiguous Loss and Posttraumatic Stress in School-Age Children of Prisoners.Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18 (3), 323-333. doi: 10.1007/s10826-008-9233-y

Boss, P. 2007.Ambiguous Loss Theory: Challenges for Scholars and Practitioners.Family Relations, 56 (2), 105-111. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3729.2007.00444.x

Broberg, A., Risholm Mothander, P., Granqvist, P. and Ivarsson, T. 2007.Anknytningsteori[Attachment theory], Natur & Kultur, Stockholm.

Cecil, D.K., McHale, J., Strozier, A. and Pietsch, J. 2008.Female inmates, family caregivers, and young children’s adjustment: A research agenda and implications for corrections programming. Journal of Criminal Justice, 36, 513-521.

Dowden, C. and Andrews D.A. 1999.What works for female offenders: A meta-analytic review.Crime and Delinquency, 45, 438-452.

Hayes, N. 2000.Doing Psychological Research, Gathering and Analyzing Data.Open University Press, Berkshire.

Hedin, U.C. 2000.Fångarnas föräldraskap - En utvärdering av föräldrautbildningar inom kriminalvården [Prisoners’ parenthood - An evaluation of parental training within the Prison and Probation Service]. University of Gothenburg, Department of Social Work, Gothenburg.

Kriminalvarden 2011.Statistics downloaded 2012-07-29 from www.kriminalvarden.se [Swedish Prison and Probation Service website].

Loper, A B., Carlson, L.W., Levitt, L. and Scheffel, K. 2009.Parenting stress, alliance, child contact, and adjustment of imprisoned mothers and fathers.Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 48, 483-503.

Mackintosh, V.H., Myers, B.J. and Kennon, S-S. 2006.Children of Incarcerated Mothers and Their Caregivers: Factors Affecting the Quality of Their Relationship.Journal of Child and Family Studies, 15 (5), 581-596.Melin, M. (1998) Fångarnas barn.[Children of prisoners]. Save the Children, Stockholm.

Murray, J. and Farrington, D.P 2005.Parental imprisonment: effects on boys' antisocial behavior and delinquency through the life-course.The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46 (12), 1269-78.

Murray, J., Farrington, D.P. and Sekol, I. 2012.Children's Antisocial Behavior, Mental Health, Drug Use, and Educational Performance After Parental Incarceration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Psychological Bulletin, Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0026407.

Murray, J., Janson, C.-G. and Farrington, D.P. 2007.Crime in Adult Offspring of Prisoners: A Cross-National Comparison of Two Longitudinal Samples.Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34 (1), 133-149.

NVivo qualitative data analysis software; QSR International Pty Ltd. Version 9, 2010.

Rodenburg, R., Benjamin, A., de Roos, C., Meijer, A.M. and Stams, G.J. 2009.Efficacy of EMDR in children: A meta-analysis.Clinical Psychology Review, 29 (7), 599-606. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2009.06.008

Roy K. and Dyson O. 2005.Gatekeeping in Context: Babymama Drama and the Involvement of Incarcerated Fathers. Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice about Men as Fathers, 3 (3),Men’s Studies Press, Harriman,Tennessee.

Shlafer, R.J. and Poehlmann, J. 2010.Attachment and caregiving relationships in families affected by parental incarceration.Attachment & Human Development, 12, 395-415.

Tudball, N. 2000.Doing it Hard: A Study of the Needs of Children and Families of Prisoners in Victoria.Victorian Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (VACRO), Melbourne.