Department of Family Science, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Department of Human Development and Family Science, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Nov 4;18(21):11592. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182111592.
On any given day, approximately 2.1 million children in Europe have an incarcerated parent. Although research indicates that material hardship is associated with parental incarceration, and particularly paternal incarceration, little is known about family processes that may mitigate the harmful effects of such hardship on children with an incarcerated parent. Guided by a resilience framework, this study examined how family processes mediate the effects of material hardship on youth academic adjustment within the context of paternal incarceration. Using Danish data that assessed key family constructs, structural equation modeling was used to perform a mediational within-group analysis of primary caregivers (n = 727) to children with an incarcerated father. Results indicate that although social support and parenting skills did not yield mediating effects, caregiver mental health strongly mediated the effects of material hardship on youth academic adjustment during paternal incarceration. Findings suggest that economic conditions, as well as caregiver mental health symptoms, are important areas of intervention that may promote family-level resilience for youth of an imprisoned father. We conclude with research and practice recommendations to advance our understanding of resilience among families with an incarcerated parent.
在任何一天，欧洲大约有 210 万儿童的父母被监禁。尽管研究表明物质困难与父母被监禁有关，尤其是父亲被监禁，但对于可能减轻这种困难对有被监禁父母的儿童的有害影响的家庭过程知之甚少。本研究以弹性框架为指导，探讨了家庭过程如何在父亲被监禁的情况下，调节物质困难对青少年学业适应的影响。本研究使用丹麦的数据评估了关键的家庭结构，采用结构方程模型对内群体的主要照顾者（n=727）进行了中介分析，他们的孩子有一个被监禁的父亲。结果表明，尽管社会支持和育儿技能没有产生中介效应，但照顾者的心理健康状况强烈地调节了物质困难对父亲被监禁期间青少年学业适应的影响。研究结果表明，经济条件以及照顾者的心理健康症状是干预的重要领域，这可能会促进有被监禁父亲的家庭的弹性。我们最后提出了研究和实践建议，以增进我们对有被监禁父母的家庭的弹性的理解。
