Parental Incarceration and Child Mortality in Denmark

Objectives. We used Danish registry data to examine the association between parental incarceration and child mortality risk.

Methods. We used a sample of all Danish children born in 1991 linked with parental information. We conducted discrete-time survival analysis separately for boys (n = 30 146) and girls (n = 28 702) to estimate the association of paternal and maternal incarceration with child mortality, controlling for parental sociodemographic characteristics. We followed the children until age 20 years or death, whichever came first.

Results. Results indicated a positive association between paternal and maternal imprisonment and male child mortality. Paternal imprisonment was associated with lower child mortality risks for girls. The relationship between maternal imprisonment and female child mortality changed directions depending on the model, suggesting no clear association.

Conclusions. These results indicate that the incarceration of a parent may influence child mortality but that it is important to consider the gender of both the child and the incarcerated parent.

Below:  Survival rates for boys of incarcerated and nonincarcerated (a) fathers and (b) mothers: Denmark, 1991–2011.

Note. The boys were born in 1991 and were followed until age 20 years or death, whichever came first.

Below:  Survival rates for girls of incarcerated and nonincarcerated (a) fathers and (b) mothers: Denmark, 1991–2011.

Note. The girls were born in 1991 and were followed until age 20 years or death, whichever came first.

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/BCos3P

By:  Christopher Wildeman, PhD, Signe Hald Andersen, PhD, Hedwig Lee, PhD, and Kristian Bernt Karlson, MSc

Christopher Wildeman is with the Department of Sociology, Yale University, New Haven, CT. Signe Hald Andersen is with the Rockwool Foundation Research Unit, Copenhagen, Denmark. Hedwig Lee is with the Department of Sociology, University of Washington, Seattle. Kristian Bernt Karlson is with SFI (The Danish National Centre for Social Research) and the Department of Education, Aarhus University, Copenhagen.

Corresponding author.

Correspondence should be sent to Christopher Wildeman, Yale University, Department of Sociology, PO Box 208265, New Haven, CT 06520 (e-mail: ude.elay@namedliw.rehpotsirhc). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the “Reprints” link.

Contributors

C. Wildeman designed the analysis and drafted the introduction and the Discussion section. S. H. Andersen conducted the analysis, including making all tables and figures, and provided critical revisions of the article. H. Lee provided critical revisions of the article, especially the Discussion section. K. B. Karlson provided critical revisions of the article, drafted the Results section, and aided in the analysis.

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Female Children with Incarcerated Adult Family Members at Risk for Life-Long Neurological Decline

A secondary analysis of data from adult female prison inmates in the mid-Atlantic United States defined relationships between having incarcerated adult family members during childhood and neurological outcomes. 

Of 135 inmates, 99 (60%) had one or more incarcerated adult family members during childhood. Regression analyses revealed that having incarcerated adult family members was related to greater frequency and severity of childhood abuse and higher incidence of neurological deficits in adulthood, especially related to traumatic brain injuries, compared to those without incarcerated adult family members. 

Along with being role models, adult family members impact the neurological health of children throughout their lifespan.

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By:  Brewer-Smyth K1, Pohlig RT2, Bucurescu G3.

• 1 School of Nursing (http://sites.udel.edu/nursing/), College of Health Sciences, University of Delaware , Newark , Delaware , USA.
• 2 College of Health Sciences, University of Delaware , Newark , Delaware , USA.
• 3 United States Department of Veterans Affairs , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , USA.
• Health Care Women Int. 2016 Jan 20:0. 

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Correlates of the Sex Trade among African–American Youth Living in Urban Public Housing: Assessing the Role of Parental Incarceration and Parental Substance Use

African–American youth are disproportionately affected by parental incarceration and the consequences of parental substance use. Many adapt to the loss of their parents to prison or drug addiction by engaging in sex-risk behavior, particularly the sex trade. These youth may engage in this risky behavior for a number of reasons. Although previous research has examined this issue, most of these studies have focused on runaway or street youth or youth in international settings. Empirical evidence on correlates of trading sex for money among urban African–American youth is practically missing. Using a sample of 192 African–American youth living in urban public housing, this paper attempts to rectify this gap in knowledge by assessing how individual and parental factors are related to the likelihood of a youth trading sex for money. The sample for this study reported a mean age of 19; 28 % reported having traded sex for money; 30 % had a father currently in prison; and 7 % reported having a mother currently in prison. Maternal incarceration and paternal substance use were associated with a higher likelihood of trading sex for money. Given the potential health risks associated with trading sex for money, understanding correlates of this behavior has important implications for the health of this vulnerable population of youth and urban health in general...

The study provides partial support for hypothesized relationship. Unlike previous research, individual level factors, age and gender, were not related to the dependent variable.^13–15 The fact that individual (i.e., age and gender) differences were not detected is an important finding, however. This unique none significant findings could be explained by males experiencing significantly more maternal alcohol and drug problems and also more maternal incarceration. Given the central role of maternal hardships in exchanging sex for money, this noted disparity in maternal hardship could have nullified gender differences that have been reported in other explorations. Conversely, in line with observations made in previous research (see²⁶), a youth’s behavior, e.g., ever tried alcohol was related to the likelihood of trading sex for money.^15,26 Having ever tried marijuana, in this sample, was not associated with the likelihood of having traded sex for money. Furthermore, mother’s presence in the home was inversely related to the likelihood of having had sex for money while father’s presence in the home had no significant effect on the behavior. It could be that for youth in compromised environments, a mother presence serves as a stabilizing factor, curbing involvement in health risk behavior. This observation is, in fact, in line with the premises of Family Stress Theory.⁴⁰ The same rationale could help explain the effect of mother’s current incarceration on the likelihood of trading in sex.

With respect to maternal alcohol problems, this behavior was not related to trading sex in sex. Conversely, father’s alcohol problem was related to having had sex for money. It could be that for youth in challenging environment, such as public housing, a mother’s alcohol problems may be seen as part of the daily routine, and hence may have little/no effect on functioning. A father’s alcohol problems, on the other hand, may be connected to other predicaments including marital discord and domestic violence, disrupting the home environment. Both maternal and paternal drug use were associated with a lower likelihood of having had sex for money. This observation is counterintuitive. Indeed, existing evidence suggests that substance use has potential to compromise a parent’s ability/capacity to supervise and support offspring, or to maintain a good home environment.⁴² The expectation, therefore, is that parental drug use would lead to a higher likelihood of trading in sex. Conversely, a youth adjusting to life in a challenging environment may assume roles parents are incapable of playing—adultification. Adultification may serve as a protective factor...⁴³

Table 3

Binary logistic regression—criterion: sex for money (n = 186)

	B	Wald	OR	p value
Demographic
Age	−.083	1.36	.920	.242
Gendera	−.617	1.49	.539	.221
Mother currently live in home	−.966	4.10	.381	.043
Father currently live in home	−.800	2.83	.449	.092
Individual factors
Have tried alcohol	1.63	6.66	5.14	.010
Have tried marijuana	.403	.532	1.49	.466
Family factors
Father has drug problem	−2.27	12.49	.103	.000
Father has alcohol problem	2.33	10.28	10.28	.001
Father currently incarcerated	.155	.091	1.16	.764
Mother has drug problem	−1.22	3.88	.292	.049
Mother has alcohol problem	−.508	.520	.603	.471
Mother currently incarcerated	2.32	4.68	10.21	.031
Chi-square (df)	58.37 (12)
−2 Log likelihood	162.058
Nagelkerke pseudo R 2	.388
Overall percentage correctly classified	83.3

aFemale reference group

  

Full article at: http://goo.gl/7DSzfe

By: Von Nebbitt, Taqi M. Tirmazi, Margaret Lombe, Qiana Cryer-Coupet, and Shelby French

University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL USA

Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD USA

Boston College, Boston, MA USA

The International Organization for Adolescents, Chicago, IL USA

Von Nebbitt, Email: ude.ciu@ttibbenv.

Corresponding author.

   

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Sex, Parental Incarceration, and Violence Perpetration among a Sample of Young Adults

Limited attention has been directed at adult children with a history of parental incarceration. The goal of the current study is to expand our understanding of the gendered effects of imprisonment on the adult offspring of incarcerated parents through the exploration of violence perpetration among a sample of young adults. 

Congruent with problem behavior theory, it is hypothesized that young adults who have been affected by parental incarceration will report greater aversive outcomes (i.e., more risk factors and violence perpetration) than their peers without a history of parental incarceration. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that parental incarceration predicts violent perpetration even after controlling for individual and familial risk factors and demographic characteristics. 

A series of bivariate and multivariate statistical models utilizing self-report data from 534 college students were generated to test said hypotheses. In addition, the moderating effects of students' sex and exposure to parental incarceration on the relationship between violence perpetration and risk factors were explored through the utilization of split logistic regression models. Roughly 1 in 10 (13.3%) students surveyed had experienced parental incarceration. As expected, students affected by parental incarceration were significantly more likely to perpetrate violence than their peers not affected by parental incarceration, net individual and familial risk. 

Although only a small percentage of students had experienced the imprisonment of a parent, parental incarceration predicted violence perpetration in young adulthood. These findings highlight the need to explore the long-lasting effects of parental incarceration on prisoners' offspring across the life course.

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By: Muftić LR1, Smith M2.

• 1Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA
• 2Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA

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