School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Department of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL 60660, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 23;18(9):4512. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18094512.
Most U.S. incarceration occurs in jails, with more than 10 million annual admissions, and most individuals in jail are parents of minor children. In this short-term longitudinal study, we examined the health and development of young children who did or did not witness their parent's arrest prior to parental jail incarceration. 228 individuals in 76 triads (incarcerated parents, children, at-home caregivers) were enrolled from four jails in two states. Jailed parents and caregivers reported on whether the child witnessed the parent's arrest or crime. Children's caregivers completed questionnaires about children's emotional symptoms during the prior 6 months and demographics, as well as children's emotional reactions to separation from the parent and child health at the initial assessment and 2 weeks later. Trained researchers conducted a developmental assessment with children while waiting to visit parents. Results of regression-based moderated mediation analyses indicated that when their emotional symptoms were high, children who witnessed parental arrest were more likely to have poorer health initially and more intense negative reactions to the parent leaving for jail. In addition, when children's general emotional symptoms were low, children who witnessed their parent's arrest were more likely to exhibit developmental delays, especially in their early academic skills, compared to children who did not witness the arrest. Witnessing the parent's crime related to missed milestones in social and adaptive development. Findings have implications for policies regarding safeguarding children during parental arrest and referrals for health- and development-promotion services following parental criminal justice system involvement.
大多数美国监禁发生在监狱中，每年有超过 1000 万人被监禁，而大多数在押人员是未成年子女的父母。在这项短期纵向研究中，我们研究了目睹父母被捕前父母入狱前后的健康和发展情况的年幼子女。从两个州的四个监狱中招募了 76 个三胞胎中的 228 名参与者（被监禁的父母、孩子和在家照顾者）。入狱的父母和照顾者报告了孩子是否目睹了父母被捕或犯罪。孩子的照顾者在过去 6 个月内完成了有关孩子情绪症状的问卷以及人口统计数据，以及孩子与父母分离时的情绪反应以及在最初评估和 2 周后的孩子健康状况。训练有素的研究人员在等待探望父母时对孩子进行了发展评估。基于回归的调节中介分析的结果表明，当他们的情绪症状较高时，目睹父母被捕的孩子最初更有可能健康状况较差，并且对父母入狱离开的负面反应更强烈。此外，当孩子的一般情绪症状较低时，目睹父母被捕的孩子更有可能表现出发育迟缓，尤其是在早期的学术技能方面，而没有目睹逮捕的孩子则没有。目睹父母犯罪与社会和适应发展中的错过里程碑有关。这些发现对有关在父母被捕期间保护儿童的政策以及在父母参与刑事司法系统后提供促进健康和发展的服务有一定的影响。
