Understanding child outcomes within a multiple risk model: Examining parental incarceration

Abstract

The risks in children's lives often co-occur and overlap in time. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of parental incarceration within a multiple risk model that allows for the control of other prominent risk factors in a child's life. The impact of four primary parental risk factors (parental mental illness, parental substance use, parental mental illness, and poverty) on seven child outcomes (school failure, criminal behaviors, being arrested, behavioral difficulties, emotional difficulties, alcohol use, and drug use) was examined. The study utilizes a statistical analysis that is rarely seen in social work research and helps the researcher to better understand the individual contributions of various risk factors. The accumulation of multiple risk factors in a child's life was found to significantly increase the likelihood that several negative outcomes would occur. The research, however, suggests further that this is an over simplification of the phenomenon and that specific risk factors are more likely to contribute to specific child outcomes.