LIVED EXPERIENCES OF CHILDREN AFTER THEIR PARENTS HAVE BEEN

INCARCERATED. A STUDY OF CHILDREN WITH LUZIRA PRISON INMATES

PARENTS.

BY

IHUNDE JACKILINE

REG NO: 2019/HD03/26889U

Introduction

Worldwide over 100 million children currently have at least an incarcerated parent, and many

experience parental incarceration at some point in their lives (Seymour, 2001). Since 1991, the

number of children with an imprisoned parent has increased over 50%, and with the

incarceration rate growing at a rate of almost 6% annually, the number of minor children affected

by parental incarceration will continue to increase (Mumola, 2000). In sub-Saharan alone,

approximately 10 million children at least had a parent in prison, jail, on parole, or on probation

between 2010- 2014, (Arditti, 2015).

According to Lili & Ching (2018), the immediate consequence of parental incarceration is the

disruption of the child’s living and caregiving arrangements. This disruption may be more felt by

the child if the incarcerated parent used to be the primary caregiver (Wilson, 2010). It was

estimated that 30% of all incarcerated parents in South Africa were the custodial parents, and

many resided in single-parent households prior to incarceration (Xuma, 2016). Studies have

shown that a stable and safe living environment and bonding between the child and an adult

caregiver can facilitate healthy coping and long-term adjustment in children (Mackintosh, Myers,

& Kennon, 2006; Nesmith & Ruhland, 2011). Ensuring stable and safe living and caregiving

arrangements thus becomes an important means for promoting the well-being of children with

incarcerated parents.

Parents especially mothers in general play a greater role in their children’s live. As a result, their

departure disrupts the daily lives of the children and usually places them in the care of relatives.

Various studies show that there’s stigma associated with parents’ incarceration and hence can

exert negative impact on children’s psychosocial development (Bocknek et al., 2009).

The worldwide familial belief interplays with the retribution principle in punishing criminals,

which then exacerbates the retributive justification of punishing the family of the incarcerated

member as a whole (Manning, 2011). Therefore children of incarcerated parents may not receive

as much sympathy or support from the community as children in other kinds of disadvantage.

Given the large number of children affected by parental incarceration in Africa, systematically

examining their experiences and identifying gaps in services will provide important implications

for child welfare policy and practice (Manning, 2011).

Children of incarcerated parents may also exhibit externalizing behaviors such as anger, a

disregard for authority, and acting-out behaviors (Hairston, 1998; Mazza, 2002). A number of

previous studies report experiences children of incarcerated parents frequently experience

internalizing problems such as anxiety, depression, sadness, and loneliness (Gabel,

1992;Hairston, 1998; Mazza, 2002).

Living and caregiving arrangements of children after parental incarceration differ significantly

across countries and cultures. Examples of caregiving arrangements are family care with

supportive services (Welbourne & Dixon, 2013), foster care, group homes and kinship foster

care (Mulready-Jones, 2011).

Taking in an extra child represents a significant hardship for many caretakers, particularly

grandparents with fixed incomes and, often, deteriorating health. the loss of support from the

incarcerated parent as a significant strain on the family’s finances

The background above indicate considerable variation within the population of children with

incarcerated parents, suggesting that there is no "one size fits all" approach to anticipating and

meeting the needs of children with incarcerated parents. Although the background cannot be

generalized to the entire population of children with incarcerated parents, findings will raise
valuable questions and can provide a launching point for future research on the impact of

parental incarceration.

Some groups were intentionally restricted to either mentors of children with incarcerated mothers

or mentors of children with incarcerated fathers in order to examine how the gender of the parent

influences child outcomes.

Problem statement

Given the high and steady rates of incarceration in Uganda now, it is critical to examine factors

affecting the population. Over the last two decades there has been a tremendous increase in the

number of children affected by parental and particularly Parental incarceration, at the state and

federal level (OKello 2018; Muniola, 2010). At midyear 2017 there were over 65,600 were

incarcerated in various state prisons reported having 147,400 children (Musoke & Okello, 2018).

The number of children with at least one parent in prison has more than doubled since 1991

(Musoke & Okello, 2018). Although there have also been similar increases in the number of

mothers incarcerated at jails at the local level, and it is estimated that there are millions of

additional children who have a mother in jail (Western & Wildeman, 2009), the actual number of

affected children is difficult to estimate as there are no formal procedures in place to collect these

data. Despite the best efforts of caregivers, children often face difficult living situations. Some

caregivers do not have sufficient money or time to raise the children in their care.

Objectives of the study

Purpose of the study

To examine the lived experiences of children after their parents have been incarcerated a study of

Luzira prison inmates.

Objectives

i. To assess the various obstacles faced by children whose parents are incarcerated in luzira

prison

ii. To examine the problems faced by caretakers whose parents are incarcerated in luzira

prison

iii. To assess the coping mechanisms of children with incarcerated parents

Research questions

What were their relationships with their parents prior to incarceration?

What are the family situations of these children?

Who is caring for them now?

How is the parent-child relationship maintained or disrupted during incarceration?

How does parental incarceration affect children emotionally, behaviorally, and developmentally?

What are the needs and challenges of children with incarcerated parents?

How do these needs differ from those of other at-risk children?

Significance of the Study

The findings will help minor children with parents under some form of criminal justice system

control are among the most at-risk, yet least visible, populations of children.

To ascertain the impacts of incarceration and how it tends to be multifaceted and often affects

every aspect of the children’s world

To examine the broad scope of the impact that parental incarceration has on children of prisoners

and to identify outcomes due to the impact of the incarceration and other difficulties these

children experience in their lives

Conceptual framework

Child factors
Age
Gender
Duration in care
Depression factors Prison -related factors
Counselling Availability of drugs
Health education
Prescription

Children experiences

Inmate -related factors

Length of sentence
Child caretaker-related factors Side effects
Age
Type of offence
Sex
Relationship to child Gender
Marital status Challenges and needs
Education level
Occupation/socioeconomic
Religion
Counselling
Time to be spent with minors

Concenptual framework obtained from Arditti, 2005, Seymour, 2001, Dallaire & Wilson,

2010, Gabel, 1992;Hairston, 1998; Mazza, 2002, Bocknek et al., 2009

Figure 1: Conceptual framework showing the factors associated with experiences of

children of incarcerated parents.

Explanation

The conceptual framework above shows insights on the challenges and needs of children of

incarcerated parents. Perhaps the most prevalent of them is the considerable variation within the

population of children of incarcerated parents, particularly between those who experience

Parental incarceration and those who experience paternal incarceration. Children who have a

mother behind bars are likely to have lived with her prior to incarceration and typically

experience substantial upheaval in their lives following her departure. These children are likely

to retain a strong attachment to their mothers, which may enable communication during

incarceration but also result in great emotional distress.

The other factor affecting children is the dynamics of their criminal justice involvement which

highly influences children’s responses. Children with a parent serving a long sentence seem to

fare better in some ways than those with a parent who is constantly cycling in and out of prison.

Children in the former group often lose the need for their absent parent’s support and don’t

experience the inconsistency and repeated traumatization of children whose parents are in their

lives one minute and out the next. Age is also a factor which influences the extent to which

children respond to and internalize the loss of a parent to incarceration, with younger children

less able to understand or process their parent's absence.

Stigma and shame is a common experience shared by most children of incarcerated parents that

distinguished them from other at-risk peers.

 Section two: LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

This chapter focuses on the review of literature .For any parent, the major punishment that

incarceration carries with it is separation from his/ her children. When a parent especially

mothers is incarcerated, what is happening to their children is the greatest of concern. This

chapter therefore discusses theoretical views on effects of parental incarceration on the children,

care takers and their coping mechanisms of these children.

Theoretical Framework

Two theories will be used for the study at hand i.e. ambiguous loss theory and resilience theory;

they both will serve as the theoretical frameworks for this study. Both theories were chosen to

help explain what children may go through when a parent is incarcerated and how it can affect

their wellbeing in the future, as well as show their resilience when faced with adversity.

Norman Garmezy came up with the resilience theory in the early 1970 and the ambiguous theory

was created by Dr. Pauline Boss in 1977. Ambiguous loss theory helps provide useful insights

into the difficulties faced by individuals in terms of decision making and adapting to new

challenges. The situation is quite challenging and traumatizing when there is uncertainty or lack

of information for a child regarding the whereabouts or status of a loved one or as absent or

present, dead or alive. Ambiguous loss happens when there is a lack of facts involving a loved

one. When there is trauma and grief, human relationships are ruptured indefinitely by ambiguous

loss. The after reaction and how they handle the trauma will be different there may not be fear,
anxiety and panic for children who have not suffered a loss of a parent to incarceration, then

those who have a parent incarcerated. If there are complex family and instability issues that were

experienced before, during, and after a parent’s incarceration, this can be the cause.

The two theories are best suited for this study because Ambiguous loss theory can explain what

the child may fell or experience, while resilience theory shows how they may overcome loss.

Implementing effective strategies that focus on ways to assist this affected population could

improve how the future for some of these children turns out.

Obstacles faced by children whose parents are incarcerated in prison

Many researchers agree that children of prisoners are an invisible group in society who are

vulnerable to a whole host of challenges which arguably constrain their access to childhood

opportunities (Adalist, 2005; Jones & Hirschfield, 2015). The effects of imprisonment reach far

beyond the constraints of a corrections facility and the Punishments meant for the offender in

most cases trickles to children hence exposing them to unintended consequences on their

children Habecker, (2013). Problems like early marriages, school dropout, delinquency and drug

abuse, inadequate care and potential physical abuse amongst others are so common among

children whose parents have been incarcerated (Seruwagi et al., 2016).

Children of prisoners are among the most vulnerable and invisible categories among children in

need (Kalibala & Elson, 2010). There is a scarcity of information regarding the subject matter

and an increasingly limited documented interventions targeting and addressing the unique

challenges of the children of prisoners. According to comfort (2007) as cited by Sseruwagi etal.,

(2016), when these children are left alone without any alternate support or buttressing of the
alternative care system, they are at increased risk of delinquency, vagabondism, substance abuse

and limited accessibility to childhood opportunities, education inclusive.

The view above was shared by (Edwards, 2009), who alleges that when not supported, there is a

high possibility for children of prisoners to adapt a negative lifestyle in their bid to manage the

challenges of their situations. According to Aaron and Dallaire (2010), parental incarceration is

associated with adolescents’ risk for delinquency. Other studies by Shlafer, Poehlmann, &

Donelan-McCall, (2012), reported few or no differences between children with and without

incarcerated parents on key outcome variables once socio demographic, environmental and

arrest/conviction variables have been taken into account. Incarceration of a parent leads to great

change and uncertainty in nearly every aspect of a child’s life (Aaron & Dallaire, 2010).

Temporary, informal care arrangements may temporarily or permanently separate children from

their incarcerated parent, family, and friends. Long distances between the prison and where the

child stays will render the journeys expensive and uncomfortable which in a long run limit the

contact between parent and child .needed to maintain a relationship during incarceration hence

breaking the bond between parent and he children.

Research about children of incarcerated parents, indicate that the problems associated parental

incarceration tend to be intergenerational and vary considerably in complexity and severity for

both children and their families (Phillips, Erkanli, Keeler, Costello & Angold, 2006). A study on

the effects of parental incineration on the children’s wellbeing in Nairobi Kenya found out that

the major consequence of parental incarceration was increased vulnerability to the development

of deviant activity among children with a parent in prison, as compared to similar high-risk

children without an incarcerated parent (Juma , 2015). Therefore, parental incarceration can have

a lasting effect on long-term outcomes for children.

According to (Farrington, 2002), Children of incarcerated parents are significantly more

susceptible to drug abuse than children whose parents were not incarcerated. He further alleges

that the increases in substance abuse among children of incarcerated parents is in most times

linked with a multitude of factors, including deficiencies in effective coping strategies to deal

with the added pressures and stresses related to incarceration, children with incarcerated parents

may be more likely to experience problems with substance abuse due to parents having used the

drugs prior to incarceration. Mumola (2000) found that the majority of incarcerated parents were

sentenced due to either drug-related charges or violent crimes. All in all, children of incarcerated

parents are likely to have a greater exposure to drugs and alcohol than other peers, which may

de-stigmatize the criminality of drug use.

An increased risk for negative outcomes and at-risk behaviors is another obstacle that may be

faced by children whose parents have been incarcerated. Several studies show that parental

incarceration is both a risk marker and a risk mechanism to the children (Johnson & Easterling,

2012; Murray & Farrington, 2005). As a risk marker, Parental incarceration indicates the

presence of other risk experiences for a child or family (e.g., low income, low education). In

conclusion Children of incarcerated parents often experience stress, parental drug use, and other

issues associated with chronic poverty prior to a parent's

Challenges faced by caretakers of children whose parents are incarcerated in prison

Caretakers of the children left behind upon the incarceration of their parents are so crucial

despite little focus being them despite the considerable job they make on the wellbeing of the

children (Alison et al., 2013). The caretakers face a myriad of challenges especially if initially

they were not acquainted to the children who are in their care due to parental incarceration.
Financial stresses which are due to the dramatic reductions in parent income and resource-

strained caregivers may result in significant financial hardship.

Despite the duration of the sentence of the parents, caregiving disrupts the family level set-up.

Parental incarceration exacerbate the caretakers existing family level stresses since family

members step in to take care of the children left behind by incarcerated parents. It’s common for

children to feel abandoned and express anger and resentment towards the caretakers and the

caretakers in turn get angry to the parents and in extreme cases punish the child who rejects help.

Lack of necessary skills is another obstacle that caretakers may face in the ace of caring,

nurturing and stimulating environment of the children left behind and be overwhelmed by a child

who is struggling at home and in school (Cecil, McHale, Strozier & Pietsch ,2008). Raising some

children requires not only commitment but patience since not all of them develop at the same

pace with other normal children. With the absence of a parent, the caretaker finds it draining

especially if he/she is the bread winner to balance raising the particular kid and fending for them.

In Africa the caretakers are in most cases, mothers, grandmothers, or other extended family

relatives. A study by (Juma, 2015 about parental incarceration in Nairobi Kenya found out that

caretakers are were often described as hard-working and dedicated to seeking the best for the

children in their care. Despite the best efforts of caregivers, however, children often face difficult

living situations especially the rampant poverty levels among the many sub-Saharan African

homes. Taking in an extra child represents a significant hardship for many caretakers, especially

grandparents with fixed incomes and, often, deteriorating health (Phillips and James, 2017).

According Comfort, (2016), family members and caregivers of these children also “bear

numerous burdens, including stigma and shame associated with having a family member in
prison, increased financial strain, physical and emotional stress, and lack of external resources,”

according to the center . Dalley (2012), noted that the loss of support from the incarcerated

parent as a significant strain on the family’s finances. Even when caregivers are relatively

financially stable, they often have limited time to spend with the children; many mothers of

children with incarcerated fathers are single parents who have to work for long hours to support

their families.

Situations are worse when it’s a mother behind the bars since many of these children did not live

with their fathers before, during or after the incarceration (Burnette, 1998). While the specific

composition of households varies, the majority of caretakers are female. Some children may be

at higher risk as a result of both parental incarceration and traumatic childhood events while

others may be at lower risk because they were less exposed to negative developmental

experiences. Incarceration of parents has numerous claims as to the negative outcomes on the

children’s psychological and developmental health and well-being. For example there’s a noted

early delinquent behaviors amongst these children which may lead to the establishment of

delinquent behavioral patterns in the children of incarcerated parents.

Children with incarcerated parents are more likely to be incarcerated themselves. Mumola

(2000), reported that almost half of all incarcerated juveniles had a parent in the correctional

system. Furthermore, specific maternal crimes have been linked with increases in incarceration

rates for children Dallaire (2007) found that regular maternal drug use was linked to future

incarceration rates for children.

In cases where grandparents are the primary caregivers, their deteriorating health and isolation

makes it hard to care for the children. Besides them the care takers are in most cases under
resourced and report needing help time and again and yet they face stigma whenever they try

seeking for the above help. In conclusion, caregiver is a stable figure in the lives of the children

under their care and hence it’s upon them that the child may cope with the situation that their

parent was incarcerated and for parents with repetitive jail sentences.

Coping mechanisms of children with incarcerated parents

When parents are incarcerated, they leave behind children and families who must cope with not

only the separation from the parent, but also social stigma and loss of financial support

associated with the incarceration of a parent (Arditti 2005). Parental incarceration induces

household instability, increases the risk of childhood homelessness, and increases dependence on

public assistance Mumola (2000). Incarceration especially Paternal is indirectly costly for

families as well as taxpayers.

Paternal incarceration introduces a cascade of problems. It increases mental health and

behavioral problems in children, reducing school performance and leading to grade retention

(Comfort, 2016). The children with incarcerated parents use a variety of strategies to cope with

their feelings about the incarceration of their parents / caregiver. A study by Bocknek et al.

(2009) noted that avoidance of others and of their feelings was the commonest way of coping

with the fact that a parent was incarcerated. Another study by Nesmith & Ruhland’s (2008), not

that engaging in extracurricular activities was among the many methods the children used to

cope with the situation of their parents being imprisoned and that these activities gave young
people the opportunity to build confidence, express negative emotions, and form new

friendships.

According to one study, children of incarcerated parents exhibited greater levels of depression

and anxiety than their peers as a coping mechanism (Farrington, 2002). In a another independent

separate study, researchers concluded that there may be an association between maternal

incarceration and young girls' perceptions of themselves (Grant, 2006). Although researchers

were not able to decisively conclude how strong of an association there was between the

variables, Children whose parents commit crimes of theft, prostitution or selling drugs are more

likely to perceive their parent's criminal actions as a means of trying to support the family

(Miller, 2006). Therefore, these children are more likely to feel a sense of guilt and responsibility

for their incarcerated parent's actions. Left untreated, these feelings may lead to long-term mental

health issues for these children (Miller, 2006).

Contact with parents during incarceration is mixed, studies have shown that children who have

contact with parents during incarceration, without the addition on intervention techniques, also

experience more behavioral problems as a coping mechanism than children who do not visit their

incarcerated parents (Pohlmann, Dallaire, Loper & Shear, 2010).

Many times, children of prisoners are not told the truth about the circumstances surrounding their

parent’s incarceration or whereabouts (Adalist & Mustin, 2013:1). As a result children have

unending questions and heightened vulnerability in all spheres of life. (Estrin, 2003; Murray,

2005). Many children have been retorted to blame themselves for parental incarceration as a

coping mechanism and also exhibit anti-social tendencies such as withdrawal and self-imposed
isolation in the wake of their parent’s imprisonment (Stanton, 1980; Murray & Farrington, 2005).

This puts restrictions on the extent to which they can get help from any support networks

(Adalist & Bass, 1994; Murray & Farrington, 2008).

The depressive symptoms which are a coping mechanism are risk factor which is associated with

children’s maladjustment, including depressive symptoms (Wight et al. 2005) and poor academic

functioning (Egeland and Abery 1991). Phillips et al. (2006) found that children of incarcerated

parents experienced more familial risk factors, such as parental drug use, and harsher parental

punishment than their peers, it is these hey resort to in trying to cope with the fact that their

parents are incarcerated.

Literature gap

This lack of consistency in the literature highlights the need for investigators to better understand

parental incarceration as a mechanism for risk. Few studies have been deliberately designed to

understand the impact of parental incarceration on children and families; thus, little is known

about how incarceration operates as a mechanism of risk. Most research has used large archival

data sets that are not designed to examine questions related to Parental incarceration (e.g., Aaron

& Dallaire 2010).

Phillips & Zhao (2010), found out that exposure to a family member’s arrest was associated with

more symptoms of posttraumatic stress. They further showed that exposure to the arrest of a

family member was associated with greater exposure to other traumatic events as well as greater

internalizing and externalizing behavior problems.

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