Peer-reviewed article
The Effects of Parental Incarceration and Child Well-being on Delinquency
Shania Cole, Esther Kweiki Malm ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study uses longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Wellbeing dataset to ask whether parental incarceration and child well-being predict delinquent behaviour at around age 9. It found that child well-being at year 3 (but not year 5) and parental incarceration at both year 3 and year 5 each predicted later delinquency. The authors expected longer incarceration to make the link between poor well-being and delinquency stronger, but this was not supported. The study looks at risk factors and does not test an intervention.
Key points
- Child well-being at year 3, but not year 5, uniquely predicted delinquent behaviour at year 9.
- Parental incarceration at both year 3 and year 5 uniquely predicted delinquent behaviour at year 9.
- Parental incarceration did not significantly moderate the relationship between child well-being and delinquency at either time point.
- The authors frame the work around a cumulative risk model, in which stressful events add up to raise risk for problems.
Limitations
Only the abstract is available, so sample size, how well-being and delinquency were measured, effect sizes and the handling of confounders are not known. Incarceration length is mentioned in the hypotheses, but the abstract does not say how it was analysed. The abstract also says both 'age 9' and 'year 9' for the outcome. Findings are from the United States and may not apply elsewhere.
Abstract
As the United States has one of the highest incarceration rates around the world, young children have a greater risk of being influenced by the disruption in their lives (Murray, Farrington, & Sekol, 2012). According to the cumulative risk model, as children begin to feel the impact of stressful events, they are at risk for multiple maladaptive problems within their lives. Therefore, the parental incarceration singlehandedly may not affect the child. However, other variables related to incarceration, such as length of sentence and time point in children’s lives, could contribute to the child’s states of well-being and risk of delinquency. We hypothesize that individually child’s well-being and parental incarceration in both years 3 and 5 will directly influence delinquent behaviors at age 9. Secondly, parental incarceration will significantly moderate the relationship between child wellbeing and delinquency at both time points, where longer incarceration time worsens the relationship. Data from Fragile families and Wellbeing Longitudinal Data set were used to examine both hypotheses. Results indicate that child wellbeing at year 3, not year 5, and parental incarceration at both years 3 and 5 uniquely predicted delinquent behaviors at year 9. The second main hypothesis was not supported in that; parental incarceration was not a significant moderator of the relationship between child wellbeing and delinquency at both time points. Result and future directions will be discussed.