Assessing intersectionality in parent-child contact, sex, and race/ethnicity on prison misconduct

Abstract

Maintaining ties with children is a key factor to successful reentry after incarceration for both parents reentering and their children experiencing parental incarceration. While prior research examines outcomes during reentry, little research looks at the impact of parent child-contact during incarceration. To address this research gap, we used a national dataset to examine the effect of parent-child contact on prison misconduct for parents who were incarcerated and possible interaction effects based on sex and race/ethnicity. Findings indicate that there are moderating effects of parent child contact, based on both sex and race, where for some demographic groups parent-child contact increases the likelihood of prison misconduct and for other demographic groups it decreases the likelihood of prison misconduct. The moderated results of this study call the need for further evaluation to understand the nuance behind in-prison parent-child contact conditions and potential explanations for these moderated effects. Future research should examine how facility types, facility policies, interventions within facilities, and child or familial characteristics may also moderate the impact of parent-child contact on prison misconduct write-ups.

Publication Title

Justice Opportunities and Rehabilitation

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS