Mothers who maintain frequent contact with their children while in prison were less likely to experience stress related to attachment and parental competence than mothers who did not maintain contact. Mothers who had been responsible for daily care were more likely to write letters to their child several times a week, were more likely to speak with their child on the telephone at least once a week, and more likely to see their child at least four times each year. Specifically, contact in the form of letter writing reduces stress related to attachment and feelings of competence as a parent. Writing letters may be a more powerful predictor of parenting stress than visits because of the complications of incarceration in a women’s prison. Previous research shows that frequent contact in naturalistic environments positively affects both mothers and children however mother-child contact in prison is often limited. Few studies have considered how different forms of contact affect inmates’ feelings of connectedness. Utilizing 357 incarcerated mothers in a maximum-security prison, this study examined contact before incarceration and the frequency of telephone, letter, and visitation contact during incarceration, as well as stress related to attachment, parental competence, and visitation. Tables, references