Parental Incarceration as a Factor Impacting Child Wellbeing
Restricted (Penn State Only)
Author:
Jupina, Madeline
Graduate Program:
Communication Arts and Sciences (MA)
Degree:
Master of Arts
Document Type:
Master Thesis
Date of Defense:
August 04, 2023
Committee Members:
Kirt Wilson, Program Head/Chair Denise Haunani Solomon, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor Rachel A. Smith, Committee Member Andrew High, Committee Member
Keywords:
incarceration family communication wellbeing
Abstract:
Children in the United States experience parental incarceration at high rates due to systems of mass incarceration. Incarceration impacts children’s relationships, health, and behavioral outcomes and destabilizes family environments. These negative outcomes are particularly prominent in families at higher risk for incarceration, such as low-income Black families. This study uses the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine associations among father incarceration, family communication, and child wellbeing. The data used in this thesis was collected in Years 9 and 15 in order to examine the crucial period between pre-adolescence and adolescence. Tests of hypotheses revealed the importance of co-parent communication on child wellbeing outcomes, as well as some unexpected findings regarding the impact of incarceration on child wellbeing.
