Parenting interventions for incarcerated mothers

Abstract

As women constitute the fastest-growing prison population, understanding the effects of incarceration is essential. This poses a significant interest in a subset of women who are also mothers. The mental health challenges faced by incarcerated women are profound and unique compared to those of their male counterparts. Likewise, the mental health challenges of mothers may be viewed as separate and distinct. Thus, these factors may impact the relationships between women and their families. This systematic review was conducted using the PRISMA framework. It examines parenting interventions designed for justice-involved women, particularly incarcerated mothers, and how these programs affect maternal well-being, parenting skills, and family relationships. The electronic databases PsycINFO and PubMed were searched for the systematic review. In phase one, 3,720 articles were extracted. Of these, 1,572 articles were screened for title and abstract irrelevancy. Following screening, 1,209 were removed due to title irrelevance, and 347 were removed for abstract irrelevance. After removing any studies that were not intervention-based, a total of 15 full-text articles remained for screening. In this phase, the articles were reviewed for quality, and six were excluded. Justice-involved mothers face unique challenges that require comprehensive and tailored interventions. These challenges may be best addressed through trauma-informed, family-oriented programming and mental health treatment. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD420251031672.