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Incarceration in the Household: Academic Outcomes of Adolescents with an Incarcerated Household Member

NCJ Number
241940
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 41 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2012 Pages: 1455-1471
Author(s)
Emily Bever Nichols; Ann Booker Loper
Date Published
November 2012
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study used a child-centered lens to examine the impact of incarceration on the school outcomes of youth who resided with a family member or family associate who was incarcerated prior to the youth's 18th birthday.
Abstract
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, yet there is relatively little information on how the removal of these adults from households impacts the youth who are left behind. This study used a child-centered lens to examine the impact of incarceration on the school outcomes of youth who resided with a family member or family associate who was incarcerated prior to the youth's 18th birthday. The authors used data from 11 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth: Child and Young Adult (n = 3,338, 53 percent female). Initial analyses indicated that youth who experienced a household members' incarceration evidenced more socioeconomic challenges, more frequent home adversities, and lower cognitive skills relative to youth who did not experience a household members' incarceration. Results also revealed that youth who had experienced a household member's incarceration were more likely to report extended absence from school and were less likely to graduate from high school relative to those youth who did not experience a household members' incarceration. Counter to our hypotheses, results revealed the incarceration of an extended family member being in the household was the only relation significantly associated with worse school outcomes. Plausibly, families who allow non-immediate criminally involved individuals to reside in the household are experiencing a more pervasive chaotic home environment than those with a parent or sibling incarcerated. This study suggests that efforts to address the needs of children with incarcerated parents need to be widened to those who experience the loss of any household member due to incarceration. Abstract published by arrangement with Springer.