The impact of parental incarceration on child behaviour and development

Introduction

Incarceration has significant effects not only on the person in prison or confinement but also on their children, family and community.

On 30 June 2024, there were 44,403 adults incarcerated in prisons in Australia, an increase of 6% from 2023 (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2024). The average age of people in prison at that time was 35.5 years and a large proportion of those people were of child-bearing age (i.e. 73.4% were aged 20-44 years [ABS, 2024]). Additionally, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2022), most females in prison are mothers, and two in five people entering prison reported having children in the community who depended on them for their basic needs.

For children, parental incarceration is considered an adverse childhood experience (ACE) due to its traumatic nature and impact on their wellbeing and development (Asmussen et al., 2020; Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee [LCLSIC], 2022). Research indicates that parental incarceration is associated with multiple adverse child outcomes including behavioural challenges (e.g. aggression), emotional difficulties, physical health concerns (e.g. sleep difficulties) and externalising behaviours (Herreros-Fraile et al., 2023).

The impacts of parental incarceration on children may also be carried through to their adolescence and adulthood (Del Toro et al., 2023). Additionally, there may be intergenerational impacts of incarceration, as many people in prison had a parent who was incarcerated during their own childhood (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2022).

Despite this, children with incarcerated parents are often ‘invisible’ to services as there are very few specific supports for them. According to a Victorian Parliamentary inquiry into children affected by parental incarceration:

This shows that more needs to be done to strengthen supports to children impacted by parental incarceration, particularly efforts to support positive development and resilience, and reduce the risk of negative impacts (Johnson & Arditti, 2023).

This resource provides an overview of the research evidence on the impacts of parental incarceration on children’s behaviour and development, and outlines how practitioners can support children with incarcerated parents.

How does parental incarceration impact child outcomes?

Parental incarceration refers to any kind of custodial confinement of a parent by the criminal justice system (i.e. a parent sentenced to a period of detention or held on remand awaiting their trial), except being held overnight in police cells (Murray et al., 2012). In Australia, it is hard to know how many children in the community have had an incarcerated parent as there is no official publicly available data.

Research suggests there are many ways that parental incarceration can affect children, including the following:

• a reduction in the stability and quality of parent–child relationships due to the physical and emotional absence of the parent while they are imprisoned, which may lead children to feel loss and grief
• greater parenting stress, particularly for the non-incarcerated parent at home
• an increased likelihood of parental separation/divorce and family conflict
• guardianship changes, which may contribute to further instability in children’s lives
• the stigma of having a parent in prison (or on remand), which can influence the child’s relationships with others (e.g. other family members, teachers, friends), access to supports (e.g. they may be reluctant to disclose their situation or to seek support), and identity development or how they see themselves (e.g. as ‘bad’ or ‘criminal’)
• increased financial strains and hardships within the family (e.g. from loss of income, employment and child support; the burden of legal fees; and court costs)
• experiences of trauma associated with witnessing criminal activity, the arrest of the parent/carer and/or engagement with the criminal justice system (Arditti & Johnson, 2022; Johnson & Arditti, 2023; Leeson & Morgan, 2022; Turney & Goodsell, 2018).

Research also suggests that these factors lead to increased risk of adverse child outcomes (Johnson & Arditti, 2022). For families with existing or previous experiences of poverty or disadvantage, parental incarceration can further exacerbate risks and/or compound the disadvantage.

What are the impacts of parental incarceration on child behaviour and development?

Research indicates that parental incarceration is associated with multiple undesirable outcomes for children – in particular, negative impacts on behaviour and development (Johnson & Arditti, 2023; Whitten et al., 2019).

This section focuses on two overarching domains: behaviour and mental wellbeing, and development and education. These domains overlap in the research related to young children.

Please note that the majority of studies in this area are from the United States, which has different justice, social and health systems to Australia. However, the evidence is still broadly useful for the Australian context.

Behaviour and mental wellbeing

Children with incarcerated parents are more likely to have externalising behaviours (e.g. aggression, hostility) and internalising behaviours (e.g. worrying, emotional difficulties, depressive symptoms) compared to children without a history of parental incarceration (Luk et al., 2023; Poehlmann-Tynan & Turney, 2021). Examples of this can be drawn from two US studies.

One of these studies examined the relationship between paternal (fathers’) incarceration and children’s socio-emotional and behaviour functioning at age nine. It found that children with fathers who had been incarcerated had higher levels of externalising, internalising and antisocial behaviours than children with fathers who had never been incarcerated (Haskins, 2015).

The other study focused on children aged 6–11 years. It found that children with a parent who had been incarcerated were more likely to have emotional difficulties compared to those who did not have a history of parental incarceration (Murphy & Cooper, 2015).

Development and education

There is evidence that parental incarceration also impacts children’s social, cognitive and educational development (Luk et al., 2023; Turney & Goodsell, 2018). Emerging research suggests that parental incarceration is associated with reduced school readiness among preschool-aged children (Testa & Jackson, 2021) and lower cognitive skills, such as reading comprehension (Haskins, 2016; Laurens et al., 2017).

A Western Australian study of 19,071 children aged 5–6 years considered two areas:

• children’s development across language, behaviour, physical health and wellbeing and social domains, measured by the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC)
• their history of parental incarceration (i.e. community-based order or incarcerated for a remand or custodial sentence; Bell et al., 2018).

This study found that children whose parent had been incarcerated were significantly more likely to be developmentally vulnerable on all AEDC domains compared to children without convicted parents. It also found that children of incarcerated parents were more likely to be developmentally vulnerable on multiple AEDC domains compared to children of parents who had served community orders only (Bell et al., 2018).

Practice considerations and conclusion

Practitioners and other professionals from many sectors, including mental health and child and family services, have an important role to play in supporting children with incarcerated parents. Practitioners can provide support, advocacy and resources to reduce the risk of adverse child outcomes, and make sure children are not ‘invisible’ within the systems they interact with.

Overall, supporting children of incarcerated parents requires a sensitive and holistic approach that considers the complex needs of children and their families, and recognises children are likely to be significantly affected by having an incarcerated parent. Here are some recommendations drawn from the existing literature, including Australian projects that explored the views of children with incarcerated parents (Committee on Children and Young People, 2022; Flynn & Gor, 2024; LCLSIC, 2022):

• Provide emotional support and consider trauma-informed approaches: Offer a safe and supportive environment for children to express their feelings and provide counselling services if needed. Consider whether family or group therapy/counselling may be beneficial.
• Support children to maintain contact with the incarcerated parent: Help children maintain contact through letters, phone calls, or visits, where appropriate.¹ This can help to maintain family connections and reduce the trauma and stress associated with separation.
• Provide practical support in a timely way: Connect families with resources that they need, such as financial assistance, housing support, and healthcare services.
• Support educational needs: Children of incarcerated parents may face challenges with their education, including disrupted schooling. Help ensure that children have access to appropriate educational services and resources, and advocate for their educational needs.
• Work with and support caregivers: Work with caregivers (e.g. non-incarcerated parent and/or extended family) to ensure that children’s needs are being met and provide support to the caregivers themselves, where appropriate.
• Address stigma and discrimination: Children of incarcerated parents may face stigma and discrimination from peers, teachers, and other adults. Work to raise awareness and understanding of the issues faced by these children and promote inclusivity and non-discrimination. Reflect on any biases or stigma that comes up when working with children of incarcerated parents and their families, and seek supervision where needed.

How this resource was developed

This article summarises evidence and literature gathered from peer-reviewed academic and grey literature on the impact of parental incarceration on child wellbeing and development. The author acknowledges the input of Dr Melissa Willoughby, Hilary Miller and Dr Stewart Muir in the writing of this article.

Further reading and resources

From Emerging Minds:

• ‘Invisible’ children of imprisoned parents at risk of falling through the cracks (short article)
• Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) toolkit

Other organisations:

• The National Information Centre on Children of Offenders, a UK-based organisation, includes research, resources and guidance to support practitioners working with children and families impacted by incarceration.
• Shine for Kids | Building Futures So Kids Can Shine supports children and young people affected by the criminal justice system.
• Vacro is a specialist reintegration service that supports adults in contact with Victoria’s criminal justice system and their families.
• Sisters Inside is an independent community organisation that supports criminalised girls, women and their children, both inside and outside prison.