AFFECTIVE STATES OF FATHERS IN PRISON

• NCJ Number: 144353
• Journal: Justice Quarterly Volume: 10 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1993) Pages: 49-66
• Author(s): C S Lanier
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Portions of paper presented at the 39th annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, 1987, Montreal, and a national conference on Family and Corrections, 1988, Sacramento

Annotation

This study profiles incarcerated fathers, father-child relationships among prisoners, and how these relationships affect anxiety, depression, somatic complaints, and concerns of fathers.

Abstract

Data were obtained from interviews with 302 inmates at a New York State maximum-security prison. The study had two independent variables, the status of the father-child relationship as it existed before the father was imprisoned and the status of this relationship at the time of assessment. Dependent variables included anxiety, depression, somatic complaints, and fathers' concerns. Of the entire sample of 302 prisoners, about two-thirds said they were fathers. The 188 fathers had a collective total of 482 children, 2.6 per respondent. Most of the children were between 7 and 18 years of age; almost 40 percent ranged from 7 to 12 years. Approximately the same percentage of men (30.4 percent) reported being married to their children's mothers as reported never being married to the mothers. Moreover, about 20 percent of the sample said they were either legally separated or divorced from their children's mothers. About 76 percent indicated they lived with their children before entering prison. Fathers who perceived themselves as detached from their children were more likely to be concerned about the father-child relationship and were more likely to suffer from depression. Anxiety and somaticism showed no statistically significant relationships with the independent variables. Further, change in the status of the father-child relationship itself exerted no major influence on the dependent variables. Length of time in confinement had no significant effect on the incarcerated fathers' affective state. Findings suggested that the potential for negative psychological consequences among incarcerated fathers was greater for men who had poor father-child relationships. Policy recommendations to provide better services for incarcerated fathers are offered. 65 references and 3 tables