Maternal incarceration penalty: an examination of the effect of maternal conviction and incarceration on childhood delinquency

Published date06 February 2017
Pages29-46
Date06 February 2017
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JCP-09-2016-0025
AuthorKristen N. Sobba,Brenda Prochaska,Emily Berthelot
Subject MatterHealth & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Criminal psychology,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Deviant behaviour,Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice
Maternal incarceration penalty: an
examination of the effect of maternal
conviction and incarceration on
childhood delinquency
Kristen N. Sobba, Brenda Prochaska and Emily Berthelot
Abstract
Purpose Several studies have reported the impact of paternal incarceration and criminal behavior on
childhood delinquency; however, fewer studies have addressed the influence of maternal criminality on
childrens behavioral outcomes. Integrating self-control and attachment theoretical frameworks, the purpose
of this paper is to address the impact of mothers who have been stopped, arrested, convicted, and
incarcerated in relation to their childrens delinquent behavior.
Design/methodology/approach The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing data set was used to better
understand this relationship. By using binary logistic regression, two types of delinquent behavior were
assessed: destroying property and fighting.
Findings The results revealed that motherscriminal behavior affected childrens fighting tendencies but
did not significantly impact childrens tendency to destroy property. Furthermore, certain childhood antisocial
traits and demographic characteristics revealed to also impact childrens delinquent behavior. From the
results, implications and prevention strategies were drawn describing techniques to combat delinquency.
Originality/value This research lays a foundation for future researchers to explore mother-child
attachment and the transmission of low self-control from mother to child in relation to criminality. The current
research is one of the first studies to specifically address how maternal criminal behavior affects their
childrens tendency to engage in delinquency, specifically examining property destruction and fighting.
Keywords Attachment, Corrections, Self-control, Antisocial traits, Juvenile delinquency,
Maternal incarceration
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
A significant amount of research has examined parental incarceration (Glueck and Glueck,
1950; Ferguson, 1952; Biller, 1970; Farrington et al., 2001), but less research has been
completed on the effects of maternal behavior and incarceration on childrens delinquency.
Maternal incarceration, and associated absence from home, has been found to have a major
impact on childrens delinquency and su bsequent criminali ty, and may be even more ha rmful
than paternal incarceration (Muftic
´et al., 2015). According to the Center for Children of
Incarcerated Parents, which was created to prevent incarceration from generation to
generation, more than ten million children in the USA have had at least one parent incarcerated
(Johnston, 2012), and approximately three million children in the USA have a parent currently
incarcerated (Newell, 2012). Furthermore, research has revealed that children of incarcerated
parents have an incr eased likelihood of emulating t heir parentsdeviant behavior (Murray et al.,
2012a). With these alarming rates, it is imperative to understand the circumstances and
characteristic s that contribute t o incarceration of p arents and childr en, particularly t he
maternal/child re lationship.
Received 12 September 2016
Revised 24 October 2016
Accepted 25 October 2016
All authors contributed equally to
the manuscript. Research reported
in this publication was supported
by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver
National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development (NICHD)
of the National Institutes of Health
under Award Numbers
R01HD36916, R01HD39135, and
R01HD40421, as well as a
consortium of private foundations.
The content is solely the
responsibility of the authors and
does not necessarily represent the
official views of the National
Institutes of Health.
Kristen N. Sobba is a Visiting
Assistant Professor and
a PhD Canditate and
Brenda Prochaska is a PhD
Candidate, both at the
Department of Criminal Justice,
University of Arkansas at
Little Rock, Little Rock,
Arkansas, USA.
Emily Berthelot is an Assistant
Professorat the Department
of Criminal Justice, University
of Nevada,Reno, Nevada,USA.
DOI 10.1108/JCP-09-2016-0025 VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017, pp. 29-46, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2009-3829
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For the purpose of this study, we examined how a mothers criminal behavior affects their
childrens delinquent tendencies. More specifically, our research examined the variation in
delinquent outcomes of children whose mothers were stopped, but not charged; charged, but
not convicted; convicted, but not incarcerated; and incarcerated. We used data from wave
5 of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study, in which the children were nine years of age.
Surveys of the children, mothers, and primary caregivers were included in the analysis.
Our sample was comprised of mothers and children who were considered a fragile family
(unmarried parents and their children), as opposed to a more traditional family where crime may
be less prevalent.
The theoretical framework applied for this study is Gottfredson and Hirschis (1990) self-control
theory. The theory explains that self-control is formed by age eight, and lack of self-control is due
to poor parenting. More recently, Hayslett-McCall and Bernard (2002), in their examination of
attachment theory, suggest that “‘detachmentis a response to a traumatic failure of the
environment to meet the childs attachment needs and that this state of detachment is related to
later negative developments in a childs life(p. 8). Relatedly, Sampson and Laub (1993) indicate
that familial social bonds can counter the influences of childhood propensities toward
delinquency, thus a lack of or reduction in these familial bonds may increase negative behavioral
outcomes in children. Regarding the relationship between maternal behavior and childrens
delinquent behavior, we propose that maternal criminal behavior and childrens delinquent
tendencies are influenced by lack of self-control in addition to children whose mothers have had
contact with the criminal justice system being placed into a state of detachment leading to
negative behavioral outcomes in the child. We presume the child outcomes are due to two
events: maternal behavioral traits are transferred from mother to child, and that their
self-control tendency to engage in delinquent/criminal behavior is also transmitted; and children
whose mothers are unable to establish appropriate bonds of attachment with their children enter
a state of detachment, which leads to negative behavioral outcomes.
Literature review
Effects of parental incarceration on children
Prior researchhas revealed that several deleterious outcomes canoccur in children due to parental
incarceration (Murray and Farrington, 2008a; Geller et al., 2009; Aaron and Dallaire, 2010;
Kjellstrand and Eddy, 2011; Nichols and Loper, 2012; Ng et al., 2013). These effects include an
increasedrisk for antisocial behavior (Murrayet al., 2012a; Murray and Farrington, 2008a) andother
problem behaviors (Kjellstrand and Eddy, 2011). These individuals may be more likely to be
exposed to parental substance abuse(Aaron and Dallaire, 2010; Ng et al.,2013), and face greater
economic and familychallenges (Geller et al., 2009; Aaron andDallaire, 2010). Furthermore, these
children have a higherprobability to experience negativelife events (Ng et al., 2013) and may have
more problems relatedto academic and school performance (Murray et al., 2012a, b; Nichols and
Loper, 2012). For instance, children who experience parental incarceration are less likely to
complete high school (Aaron and Dallaire, 2010; Nichols and Loper, 2012).
Finally, children with an incarcerated parent have also shown to have greater risk for mental health
problems. Murray et al. (2012b) conducted a study involving 122 boys who had a history of
parental incarceration, 84 whose parent had been convicted and not incarcerated, and 41 who
had a parent that was arrested but not convicted or incarcerated. Boys whose parents were
incarcerated, convicted, or arrested were significantly more likely to experience depression
relative to their matched controls (Murray et al., 2012b). In summary, there are a wide range of
detrimental outcomes associated with parental incarceration.
Effects of maternal incarceration on children
Research suggests that maternal incarceration may have more harmful outcomes for children
relative to paternal incarceration (Huebner and Gustafson, 2007; Murray and Farrington, 2008a),
but studies have found mixed results (Bijleveld and Wijkman, 2009; Farrington et al., 1996;
Murray et al., 2012a). For instance, Huebner and Gustafson (2007) found a direct relationship
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