Introduction and Literature Review: Is Parent–Child Contact During Parental Incarceration Beneficial?

Abstract

A growing body of research confirms that children with incarcerated parents are more likely than other children to exhibit internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, cognitive delays, difficulties in school, and insecure attachment relationships with their incarcerated parents and primary caregivers. Here, and throughout this monograph, "caregiver" is used to refer to whoever serves as the child's primary caregiver during the parent's incarceration. When the incarcerated parent is the child's father, the primary caregiver is often the child's mother. Throughout this monograph the term "caregiver" is used to refer to whoever provides a majority of the daily care for the child during the parent's incarceration, recognizing that in some cases this is the child's biological parent. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)